“Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that generation. Let your greatness blossom” – Nelson Mandela
Kingswood College joined the rest of South Africa and the world to celebrate Mandela Day on Tuesday.
Nelson Mandela International Day pays tribute to the lifetime of service Nelson Mandela gave to South Africa and the world. The day was launched on his birthday, 18 July, in 2009 via a unanimous decision by the UN General Assembly.
Mandela Day gave Kingswood staff and pupils an opportunity to come together and celebrate and commemorate Nelson Mandela, and most importantly the vision that he had for our world.
The Junior and Senior School pupils and staff gathered at City Lords on Tuesday morning to donate the collection of canned and non-perishable foods collected for Mandela Day. This is a pupil driven initiative, where the foods will be distributed to our support staff as well as various charities in our community.
This occasion also provided a platform for pupils to share with each other the various ways in which Kingswood College gives back to its community and how each pupil could get involved.
One of our pupils, Lavela Booi wrote the following poem:
Dalibungaaaaaaa
Izululizele iqhawe
You have upheld the dignity of the African child throughout the whole universe
You see because before our darkness was a curse
The darker you were the worse
If we could could exchange our skin we probably would
Just to live in a nicer neighborhood
So were forsaken to different benches
With Laws they drenched us
Lavela don’t go there
Johnny that’s a black child, don’t stare
We were shown no one cared
So inside the children of colour began to die
You know when I think about it I wanna cry
Think about how in those 27 years in prison
You saw a vision
To watch a Nation glisten
They call it a rainbow but I call it your mission
But let’s not forget the others
Biko, Ngoyi, Sobukwe
Sisters and brothers
All standing together to make us whole
So I say we give back
To keep their work on track
67 minutes
There are no limits
I am because you are
Whoever you are
Look around you
Mother Africa has crowned you
Children of a Nation
Beautiful creations
Nkosi sikilela
Thina lusapolwayo”
-Lavela Booi
