Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s beloved former president, spent 67 years fighting for social justice.
In his honour and on his 92nd birthday, Mandela Day, citizens of the world are called on to dedicate 67 minutes of their time to helping humanity.
Flow already works closely with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Nelson Mandela Institute, and Flowstars were keen to get involved in Mandela Day for the second year running. But the question was: how would we spend our 67 minutes?
Janet Berger – Flow’s Design Studio Manager – in line with the old adage, that charity begins at home, suggested that we help out our very own gardener, John Kazembe, by donating items that would be of use to him and his family.
“Instead of looking beyond Flow to find a worthwhile cause for a Mandela Day initiative, staff members decided to find a beneficiary close to home,” says Janet.
“We all spent our 67 minutes looking at home for any surplus clothes, games, books and goodies that John and his family could benefit from.
“This resulted in a fair stockpile of donations that we hope John and his family will enjoy,” she adds.
John, who hails from Zambia, lives with and supports his seven siblings.
He’s the one responsible for Flow’s beautiful gardens, but he’s also an aspiring designer! He’s currently studying information technology, web and graphic design at the Falcon Business Institute.
Of the donations, he says, “They are a really good present. The clothes will help us in the cold and the food will keep us going.”
“I really appreciate Flow – they’ve done something good for my family and we are so in need,” he adds.
Mandela Day gives us all an opportunity to make a difference by taking a leaf out of Madiba’s book.
Thousands of people are expected to follow on our leader’s legacy and join in the global campaign for good on July 18.