Nelson Mandela International Day is an annual global celebration that takes place on 18 July. The theme this year is “It is in your hands”.

You can spend your 67 minutes for Mandela Day in many ways. Here is a sample of how you can get involved:

Gauteng:

Corruption Watch 

Corruption Watch is running a Soup Kitchen at their offices on 87 De Korte Street, Braamfontein Johannesburg. The aim is to produce 100 meals, which will be distributed to food insecure and/or homeless people in and around Johannesburg.

The Little Eden Society

The Little Eden Society — a non-profit organisation providing life-long care to children and adults with profound intellectual disabilities — is inviting you to join them for 67 minutes. Visitors are welcome from 09:00 to 15:00 at both the Edenvale and Bapsfontein homes. One can donate disposable nappies, instant porridge or soft cereals for the residents, or second-hand items for the Little Eden Charity Shop.

Those interested in participating on the day should email relationship officer Danica Savvi at [email protected] or alternatively, call the society on 011 609 7246.

Fight with Insight

Fight with Insight, a boxing project that aims to create a safe society for the youth of Johannesburg, will be hosting a “Nelson Mandela Art Run In The City” event, inviting all stakeholders to participate and spend 67 minutes in the beautiful inner city of Johannesburg.

Participants can choose to be a part of the Nelson Mandela Art Run, where they will have the opportunity to plant a symbolic tree of life at the end of the run. Alternatively, they can spend 67 minutes preparing a meal for the inner city community or engage in a box aerobics session.

The event is free to attend and the meet-up point is Gate 13 CMI Building, Cnr Empire and Hillside Rd, behind BP garage and McDonald’s. RSVP to Jennifer Matibi on +27-671-413-030.

Life 4 U Foundation

Life 4 U is receiving any food item to assist individuals and families in Tembisa to have adequate food. This is through the organisation’s feeding scheme that provides meals every afternoon from Monday to Friday to vulnerable children, orphans, widows and the elderly.

They are based at 303 21 March Street, Moriting Section-Tembisa, and can be reached on 011 924-69-60/079-169-3705/079-596-9099 or by email at [email protected]

Help Hotel Hope Ministries

Help Hotel Hope Ministries is conducting a donation drive for any unwanted furniture, home decor, art, glassware, books, etc to sell at three of their charity shops.

The income from the charity shops addresses the needs of 36 orphaned and abandoned children at Hotel Hope Ministries.

Found in Melville, Johannesburg, they are accessible through their office landline (011-484-4000) and WhatsApp (066-1144-122).

The People’s Pantry

The People’s Pantry, a non-profit organisation, is hosting a Mandela Day initiative at Victoria Yards, in Johannesburg. 

CleanCitySA 

​​CleanCitySA in association with Clean Up & Recycle South Africa is hosting its 2nd annual Mandela Day. The organisation is calling on organisations and their employees to play their part in curbing the intersection between food security and climate change. The event will be hosted at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg and will include clean-up, planting indigenous trees at Constitution Hill, and planting vegetables and herbs at 3 Kotze Street, a home for displaced persons.

The event will take place from 8 am to 4 pm and you can register here.

UDF40 pays homage 

The convenors of the UDF40 anniversary celebration will congregate around the statue of Nelson Mandela at the Union Building in Pretoria at 12h00. You can register here 

Western Cape:

Rape Crisis Cape Town

Rape Crisis Cape Town is hosting a Mandela Day Survivor Care Packs Drive at the Observatory Community Centre. Individuals can either join for their 67 minutes from 09:00 to 15:00, donate toiletries for the drive, or make a donation so that Rape Crisis can purchase care pack items.  Care Pack item donations can be delivered to their Observatory office on 23 Trill Road. For any queries, contact [email protected]

Coding 4 Mandela

Nelson Mandela University, Tangible Africa and the Leva Foundation will host a coding tournament titled #Coding4Mandela at the Mandela Legacy Exhibition, Cape Town.

The theme of this year is “Cultivating the coding ecosystem of the future” coupled with the aims of identifying, guiding and nurturing talent. For more information, contact [email protected].

City of Cape Town’s libraries

The City of Cape Town’s libraries will do their part for Mandela Day with storytelling sessions, among other things, to spread joy to their communities. 

• Kensington Library will host a soup kitchen and talk at the Kensington Home of the Aged. There will be a talk on drug abuse at the Macassar Library.
• Fisantekraal Library will host a clean-up of the community parking lot at the multi-purpose centre.
• Philippi East will host a soup kitchen at the Masakhane Old Age Home as well as storytelling and arts and crafts for the younger ones.
• Huguenot Square will host storytelling, followed by arts and crafts, with soup and bread for the community.
• Belhar Library will host a soup kitchen at the Freedom Farm informal settlement.
• Scottsdene Library will plant a vegetable garden.
• Otter Library is handing out soup and sandwiches.
• There’s a beach clean-up by Gordon’s Bay Library.
• Breakfast and coffee in front of the Observatory Library.
• Lotus River Library will spend 67 minutes with the seniors of Home Morea and host a soup kitchen at noon.
• On 23 July, Bishop Lavis Library will host a soup kitchen in the library hall.

Little Lambs NPO

Little Lambs NPO in Cape Town is calling for volunteers to pack and deliver meals, gather essential items for teenage girls or to donate 67 essential items. 

The Nelson Mandela School and Ubuhle Bendalo Food Gardens 

The Nelson Mandela School and Ubuhle Bendalo Food Gardens will collaborate with farming activists in Khayelitsha to enhance food security. This will take place on 18 July from 13:00 to 16:00 at 31 Mongezi Street Khayelitsha, Cape Town.

Alta du Toit Centre

Alta du Toit Centre is welcoming donations for fresh fruits, including oranges, grapes and apples, for their residents who are intellectually disabled adults. The nutritious food will contribute to the organisation’s efforts of improving the health of its residents.

Location: 80 Lincoln St, Bellville, Cape Town, 7530, South Africa

Office landline: +27 (0) 21-913-2106

Ladles of Love

Ladles of Love is selling tickets costing R150 for adults and R100 for pensioners and students for one to make, craft, collate, pack, create or plant items for little children in Early Childhood Development Centres in impoverished communities. 

Each volunteer will contribute 67 mins and to an attempt to set an Ubuntu World Record.

Contact them using the following details: 082-554-9926 and [email protected]. They are based in Ladles of Love HQ, Unit 4, Hewett Park, 17 Hewett Avenue, Epping 2, Cape Town.

Northern Cape:

Child Welfare and Destiny House

Child Welfare and Destiny House is  a temporary place of safety for babies and toddlers who were removed by court order from their parents or carers. The house is located on 21B Schimdtsdrift Road in Kimberley and is completely dependent on donations.

Winter clothing (especially for children), blankets, canned food or other non-perishable food items, toiletries, and cash donations are welcome. 

For more information, send a WhatsApp message to 083-395-1465 or send an email to [email protected].

A book donation drive, with the books to be handed over on 18 July, is taking place for the !Xunkhwesa Combined School in Platfontein, outside Kimberley. This school has learners from the San tribes !Xun and Khwe. Most of the learners struggle with reading, writing, understanding, and expressing themselves in Afrikaans and English, as their home language is !Xun or Khwe. Books can be dropped off at Kimberley public libraries and the Sol Plaatjie University Library.

KwaZulu Natal:

FoodForward SA

FoodForward SA is providing you with an opportunity to pack parcels of food items for non-profit organisations such as community kitchens and shelters to distribute to facilities making nutritious meals for the elderly and vulnerable children.

Locations in Durban: FFSA Warehouse, 23 Gillitts Rd, New Germany, Pinetown, Durban.

Locations in Johannesburg: FFSA Gauteng Warehouse, Warehouse H1, Isando Business Park, Johannesburg.

Locations in Cape Town: FFSA Western Cape Warehouse, 21 Polaris Road, Lansdowne, Cape Town.

Phone: +27 21 531 5670 or email: [email protected]

National:

Breadline Africa

Breadline Africa is open to donations of educational materials for the non-profit organisation’s initiatives and infrastructure that help with childhood development in Southern Africa.

Individuals can donate at 1 Platinum Park, 101 Capricorn Drive.

Call +27 21-418-0322 or email  [email protected] for any queries. 

The Remax Foundation

The Remax Foundation is having their annual coats and cans drive. You can drop off any warm clothing, non-perishable food item, and essential pet-care items at any Remax office.

Nelson Mandela University

Nelson Mandela University has the Mandela Day 2023 Giving Campaign, which affords you the opportunity to donate funds for students at the university to receive food, bursaries and scholarships. 

Alternatively, one can opt to donate towards the greenhouse skills development project or community kitchen run by the tertiary education institution.

SA Harvest

SA Harvest is extending Mandela Day into Mandela Month and calling people to join the #UnionAgainstHunger and help SA Harvest deliver one million meals. Individuals are encouraged to donate money or food in volumes of 67 in recognisation of the 67 years Madiba devoted to human rights and social justice causes.

Click here to register or donate: 

Chefs with Compassion 

Chefs with Compassion, a non-profit organisation dedicated to rescuing food, cooking for, and feeding the hungry, is calling for people to participate in the #67000 litres for Mandela Day Challenge.  The #67000litres Challenge is a nationwide opportunity for every single person in South Africa to help feed hungry people — and to raise awareness of the need to address this imbalance and find ways to redirect nutritious food that will go to waste into hungry tummies.

There are three categories of participation including home cooks, corporates, and community organisations affiliated with Chefs with Compassion. Registration is via Quicket with a participation fee of R67. 

Individual activities you can do during Mandela Day

Below are some acts of kindness that you can complete for Mandela Day as an individual.

• Research an issue you’d like to find out more about and then share your findings with friends on social media.
• Organise a clean-up in your community.
• Make sandwiches to give to people living on the street.
• Donate blood or sign up as a tissue/organ donor.
• Buy a bed in a shelter for a homeless person so they can spend the night off the streets.

DM