Changing the world for the better by The Elders 11:11am 16th Jul, 2011   July 2011    Mandela Day aims to show that we can all play a part in changing the world for the better.    Now retired from public life, Nelson Mandela has called on younger generations to take up the fight for a fairer, more peaceful world.    "It is time for the next generations to continue our struggle against social injustice and for the rights of humanity," he says. “It is in your hands.”    Nelson Mandela gave 67 years of his life to the fight for the rights of humanity. In this spirit, on 18 July 2011, Nelson Mandela"s 93rd birthday, people around the world are encouraged to dedicate 67 minutes to serving their community and helping to build a global movement for good.    In a message to mark Mandela Day, Chair of The Elders Desmond Tutu said:    On 18 July, my dear friend Nelson Mandela “Madiba” as we call him in South Africa will be 93 and I know you will join me in wishing him a very happy day with his family and loved ones.    Every day I give thanks to God for Madiba"s courage and commitment to the cause of freedom and justice and am delighted that his birthday is officially celebrated around the world as Nelson Mandela International Day. So what can we do to celebrate?    In his wise way, Madiba asks us not to celebrate him on 18 July. His wish is that we mark the day by doing something for others. so I hope you will join us the Elders in fulfilling that wish. Let us mark Mandela Day by celebrating our collective power to do good for others and make the world a kinder and fairer place.    As Nelson Mandela gave 67 years of his life in the service of others, to honour him, we ask you to give 67 minutes to make a difference in your community and become a Mandela Day change maker. As he says, it is up to us now.    "It is time for the next generations to continue our struggle against social injustice and for the rights of humanity. It is in your hands." Nelson Mandela.    How you can make a difference. It can be hard to imagine that our individual actions really make a difference in a world that is so full of suffering, but I want to assure you that they do.    As Ela Bhatt writes in Peace by practice: Mandela Day 2011, what we do each day "is like ripples in water, small circles of change that grow ever wider."    Many of you write to us asking "What can I do to help?" It can be the smallest gestures, closest to home, that matter most: helping a neighbour in need, organising a street clean up, or volunteering at a local youth group. There are plenty of ways to make a difference, not just on Mandela Day, but every day.    My friends, you have no excuse! As Gro Brundtland says, "We want to inspire the conviction that we all can make a difference; that by our own actions, we can help make the world a better place."    Nelson Mandela"s wife and fellow founder of The Elders, Graça Machel said:    “Mandela Day is a chance for each of us to do what we can for the human family that Madiba cares so much about.    “It is a way of recognising that we can all do good, that we have love and kindness in our hearts and that we can all make a difference to the lives of our neighbours.”    Lakhdar Brahimi, former Algerian Foreign Minister said:    “Nelson Mandela has shown us that with personal dedication and commitment we can meet the greatest of challenges.    “In this spirit, the people of Tunisia and Egypt, too, have demonstrated what can be achieved when we are committed to the betterment of our communities.”    Gro Brundtland, former Norwegian Prime Minister said:    “On Mandela Day, I encourage you all to explore how best you can help in your local community. “We often don"t realise our inner strength and talent until we reach out to those around us.”    Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland said:    “In our busy day to day lives, it is too easy to overlook the needs of those in our own communities. There may be an elderly neighbour living alone, young people struggling to find work, or a local family that is unable to make ends meet.    “To mark Mandela"s birthday, I hope we can all find time for a quiet act of kindness - and make every day a Mandela Day.”    Peace by practice: Mandela Day 2011, by Ela Bhatt.    To me, Nelson Mandela is a supreme symbol of freedom’s struggle. Let us take this opportunity to reflect on the life of a man we have come to know and respect as a great leader, one who sacrificed his own freedom for the freedom of his people.    How best do we honour his achievements? What can we do to live up to Madiba’s example?    It is often said that the problems facing our world are too overwhelming or intractable - that you find endless conflict, injustice and poverty.    I agree that if you want to fix the world’s problems, you have a mighty task.    In my own country, India, the scale of the poverty we see is enough to break your heart. After decades of independence, freedom has still not come to every citizen – discrimination has taken new forms, and the poorest of the poor live on the margins, the invisible engine of our so-called ‘Tiger economy’.    When we see such suffering, it is natural to wish to solve everything at once. We turn to our governments for a solution, and feel frustrated when they fail to act. But I have never been one to argue that governments have all the answers.    Change is up to us. Our greatest source of strength is right under our noses; the families, work-places and communities that give us strong foundations, on which equal societies are built. Thinking local, we can turn power upside down.    In my work with Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), I have seen some of the poorest, most vulnerable women transform their lives and the communities they live in.    From being home-based workers, landless labourers or illiterate food vendors they have claimed their rights and have become the owners of their own resources, the beneficiaries of their own land.    They meet resistance from the authorities at every stage but they stand firm, together, saying “We are poor, but so many!”    I believe strongly that to bring widespread change, we must first make that change ourselves.    Another great teacher, Mahatma Gandhi, imagined this as ripples in water, small circles of change that grow ever wider. Our actions have an impact we may never even see.    Rather than find yourself immobilised by the scale of the world’s problems, look around you. Even when a problem is right under your nose, it is easy to ignore it – we curse fate, blame tradition or say “it’s God’s will.”    But you will not have to search far before you find people who are hungry, lonely, downtrodden, persecuted – sometimes we just need a reason to reach out to them.    When Nelson Mandela founded The Elders, he invoked the idea of ubuntu: that we are human only through the humanity of others.    What he describes is more than charity, it is a certain outlook or way of life. By serving others, we actually fulfil our own humanity.    This Mandela Day let us spend our energies serving our own communities to honour the 67 years Nelson Mandela dedicated to fighting for a better world.    http://www.mandeladay.com/ Visit the related web page
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