The first Mandela Day was celebrated on his 90th birthday in 2008. Mandela was present and gave a speech to commemorate the occasion in hopes of passing the torch of service to the global community. "It is in your hands now -- I thank you," Mandela said.
Since then, the mission of Mandela Day has been to encourage people to dedicate at least 67 minutes on that day to performing public service.The significance of the 67 is a nod to Mandela's 67 Years of Public Service
Nelson Mandela was pivotal to mending the deeply divided nation. After he spent 27 years in prison for his political activism under the oppressive apartheid rule of South Africa, he ran for presidency with the promise of peace and reconciliation.
South Africans honored the 67 years of former president Nelson Mandela's service to the country with 67 minutes of charity and community action around the country on his birthday Saturday.
All over the country, volunteers handed out blankets and books, distributed toys at orphanages, and cleaned up public areas
At the University of Johannesburg, Mandela's widow Graca Machel gave out food parcels and blankets knitted specifically for the occasion.
"Knowing my man as I know, wherever he is up there, he is with a bright bright smile blessing you all, blessing our nation," said Machel
Mandela's former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela held a lunch for elderly, needy women at the Mandela family restaurant near the family home in Soweto, calling it a chance to recommit to his values of "bettering the lives of our people."
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