The world celebrated the birthday and the improving health of Nelson Mandela.
Yesterday was Nelson Mandela’s 95th birthday, and although the former south African President remains in the hospital, South Africa’s current President, Jacob Zuma, says the anti-apartheid leader is “steadily improving.” Mandela’s daughter, Zindzi, also said that he was “making remarkable progress and we look forward to having him back home soon.”
Meanwhile, the world marked Nelson Mandela International Day:
- In South Africa, millions of children started the day by singing happy birthday to the leader. The country called upon people to perform 67 minutes of good deeds in honor of Mandela’s 67 years of public service; volunteers worked at schools, hospitals, and orphanages as well as providing meals to those in need.
- Reuters reports that twenty US cities celebrated the day; a giant painting of Mandela went up in Times Square, and volunteers distributed South African oranges.
- Melbourne, Australia, held concerts in the former president’s honor.
- President Obama offered a tribute encouraging people to serve, he said, “Through our own lives, by heeding his example, we can honor the man who showed his own people—and the world—the path to justice, equality, and freedom.”
Photo: AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam