RIP Nelson Mandela 1918–2013
"I am not a Saint, I am a sinner who just keeps trying."
Videos
Nelson Mandela Quotes
"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this strugle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
Nelson Mandela at his trial in 1964.
"Young people you can be the great generation. Let your greatness blosssom."
"No-one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it."
"Sport has the power to unite people in a way that little else can. Sport can create hope where there was once only despair. It breaks down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all kinds of discrimination. Sport speaks to people in a language they can understand."
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
"Our human compassion binds us the one to the other - not in pity or patronisingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future."
"Courageous people do not fear forgiviing, for the sake of peace."
"It always seems impossible until it's done."
"Where globalisation means, as it so often does, that the rich and powerful now have new means to further enrich and empower themselves at the cost of the poorer and weaker, we have a responsibility to protest in the name of the universal freedom."
"A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."
"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb."
"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."
"Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement."
"There are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction, confident that he is leading his people the right way."
"Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another."
"There are so many men and women who hold no distinctive positions but whose contribution towards the development of society has been enormous."
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
Prayers
This prayer has been said throughout school during Morning prayers as we gave thanks for an extraordinary life well lived:
Eternal rest, grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen
Nelson Mandela and Mnyakanya High School
Nelson Mandela personally arranged for the financing of Mnyakanya High School, as well as attending its opening in 2004 (an event attended by 20,000 people)
KZN village waits for Mandela [NEWS 24]
My Madiba Moments: The day he opened Mnyakanya School [THE NEW AGE]
Speech at the Opening of Mnyakanya School (5/03/2004) [POLITY.ORG.ZA]
Further Links
Nelson Mandela section [BBC NEWS]
Nelson Mandela Obituary [THE GUARDIAN]
Nelson Mandela [THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE]
