July 18th - Mandela Day

This weekend, on July 18th, was Nelson Mandela’s 91st birthday.

Some of the world’s top musical talent gathered in New York to put on a three-hour spectacle celebrating Nelson Mandela’s birthday and life as well as the launch of the Mandela Day initiative.

Mandela Day is about ordinary people being positive. In short, Mandela Day celebrates the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world, the ability to make an imprint.

46664 (four, double six, six four) was the prison number of Nelson Mandela on Robben Island, Cape Town where he was held in captivity for 18 years. The issue in South Africa then was Apartheid. The issue today across the continent is AIDS. 30 million people in Africa are currently imprisoned by the HIV virus, a death sentence among the poor due to lack of affordable medicines -- since the start of the pandemic 2 decades ago, 17 million Africans have died. You can make a donation at 46664.

Thank you Vincent for visiting me on this special day and for the Great Heart moments spent together.