On Wednesday morning, children all over South Africa sang a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday to Nelson Mandela, the first black president of their country. Mandela, now aged 94, is best known for his hard won triumph over racist apartheid rule, an effort which earned him a Nobel Peace prize. His victory came at a heavy price: 27 years of his life in prison. The bars of jail as well as those of discrimination are long behind him though and Africa celebrated the anniversary of his birth with great enthusiasm. The whole of South Africa was caught up in a state of joy and people stopped to greet each other in the streets.
The celebration didn't stop with just songs and words of greeting. People also offered 67 minutes of their time to do some sort of community service. Many of these acts took the form of acts of kindness by the school children who were celebrating. In 2009, the United Nations established Nelson Mandela International Day to honor the African leader on his birthday through acts of community service.
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