Mandela dedicated his life to giving South Africa the biggest gift he could imagine: freedom.On his 91st birthday, this extraordinary man finally asked the world for something in return.Since that day in 2009, July 18 has been celebrated as Mandela Day - a day with a call to charitable service.This year, South Africa is hoping to make his 95th birthday into the biggest Mandela Day ever.This year’s festivities are off to a raucous start in Johannesburg, at an impoverished school that also turns 95 this year.Bertrams is the oldest suburb in Johannesburg.Like Mandela, this neighborhood was a force of resistance during apartheid, defying segregation laws to become a mixed-race suburb.The charitable initiative "Lead SA" gathered sponsors this past weekend to donate books, computers and other needed equipment to this struggling school.Two of Mandela’s grandchildren, Zondwa and Zoleka, were on hand to encourage more good works.“Sometimes people get worried as to, ‘where to from here?’ if one day our grandfather was no longer with us.And that reminds me of a quote by Albert Pike that says, ‘what we do for ourselves dies with us, but what we do for others remains and is immortal.’That really is a lesson that says through his legacy and through his effort, he will live on, and he will live forever,” said Zondwa.
