Nelson Mandela International Day, July 18

Message from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: "This year’s commemoration of Nelson Mandela International Day comes at a moment of deep reflection on the life and work of Madiba, as the universally revered leader remains in the hospital."



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Nelson Mandela’s achievements came at great personal cost to himself and his family. His sacrifice not only served the people of his own nation, South Africa, but made the world a better place for all people, everywhere… He showed the way. He changed the world.

- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Take Action!  Inspire Change

Can you spare 67 minutes of your time helping others?
Every year, on Mandela Day, people around the world are asked by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to do just that.
By devoting 67 minutes of their time – one minute for every year of Mr. Mandela’s public service – people can make a small gesture of solidarity with humanity and a step towards a global movement for good.
UN staff around the world have made a difference through a variety of activities in the past – from offering school supplies to children, to preparing meals for the elderly, helping out in an orphanage, cleaning up parks, and delivering computer literacy workshops.
In New York, UN staff will volunteer their time on 17 and 18 July 2013 to help rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Sandy last fall.
Last year, staff from UN Headquarters in New York volunteered at the Bowery Mission, preparing and serving food to homeless men and women.
In New York, the previous year, visitors to the Nelson Mandela International Day interactive exhibit at UN Headquarters were invited to make their own pledge to devote 67 minutes of their time to public service.
If you would like to donate your own time to public service, here are some things you can do to take action and inspire change:

• Make a new friend. Get to know someone from a different cultural background. Only through mutual understanding can we rid our communities of intolerance and xenophobia.
• Read to someone who can’t. Visit a local home for the blind and open up a new world for someone else.
• Help out at the local animal shelter. Dogs without homes still need a walk and a bit of love.
• Help someone get a job. Put together and print a CV for them, or help them with their interview skills.
• Many terminally ill people have no one to speak to. Take a little time to have a chat and bring some sunshine into their lives.
• Get tested for HIV and encourage your partner to do so too.
• Take someone you know, who can’t afford it, to get their eyes tested or their teeth checked.
• Donate a wheelchair or guide dog, to someone in need.
• Buy a few blankets, or grab the ones you no longer need from home and give them to someone in need.

To see all 67 suggestions for action, visit the Nelson Mandela Foundation site.