Mandela Day – Make a difference, Join us

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead”
– Nelson Mandela

What is ”Mandela Day”?

Information from the Nelson Mandela Foundation:
Mandela Day is a global call to action for citizens of the world to take up the challenge and follow in the admirable footsteps of Nelson Mandela, a man who transformed his life, served his country and freed his people. Its objective is to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better and in so doing, to build a global movement for good.

”Take action, Inspire change – Make every day a Mandela Day” - These inspirational words from The Nelson Mandela Foundation encourage each one of us to simply do good every day, living Nelson Mandela’s legacy and helping to build the country of our dreams. Mandela Day is dynamic and ever-changing: it belongs to everyone and can take place anywhere, at any time.

Nelson Mandela International Day was launched in recognition of Nelson Mandela’s  birthday on 18 July, 2009 via unanimous decision by the UN General Assembly. It is more than a celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy. It is a global movement to honour his life’s work and act to change the world for the better.

The HOPE Centre supports Itsoseng in honour of Mandela Day, 17th July

Project HOPE South Africa is supporting Itsoseng, an informal settlement in the outskirts of Johannesburg, in honour of Mandela day on the 17th of July by reviving their community garden. Project HOPE aims to plant herbs and provide training to community gardeners to make the revived garden sustainable.

Health awareness is already a key focus for Project HOPE’s HOPE Centre staff and we are constantly identifying ways to raise awareness in new communities. The Mandela Day project in Itsoseng is no exception:

”We already have a success story from Kopano Garden in Zandspruit where community members and patients from the HOPE Clinic are involved, working together to make some extra money, learn about gardening, and for most; to better their health”. We see a high interest for creating the same in Itsoseng and want to make it happen.” – says Portia Zulu, Health Education & Training Officer for Project HOPE South Africa.

We are hoping for a high level of interest on Mandela Day – from both community members and volounteers. The aim of the project is to revive the community garden and train community members on how to take care of their garden so that it is sustainable. The aim of the garden is to promote a healthy lifestyle, reduce food security issues, and create an income for the garden members.

We need YOUR help to make this happen!

To turn this piece of land into a sustainable and lush garden of herbs, we need your help! The 17th of July, in honour of Mandela Day, is the day when the transformation is happening.

So, do a good deed and make a difference for the community members in Itsoseng! Come and help us transform this land and hand it over to the community.

We are in need of sponsors and donations

Our goal is to make this a sustainable project which means we are in need of kind sponsors and donations, both for Mandela Day itself and for the long-term.

If your company or organization sponsors the Itsoseng Garden, we are happy to show everyone our gratitude on social media and on our website in appreciation.
See the list of what we need here:

Thank You!

Please contact Refilwe or Portia to let us know of your interest in contributing or for further questions or information.

Refilwe Lechoba – HOPE Centre Program Coordinator

Email: rlechoba@projecthope.org
Phone: 010 210 7335/ 076 133 8426

Portia Zulu - Health Education & Training Officer

Email: pzulu@projecthope.org
Phone: 079 021 3804 

Read more about Mandel Day here – Nelson Mandela Foundation

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World Hypertension Day, South Africa – The screening continues

HOPE Centre staff are familiar faces in Zandspruit, a large informal settlement outside of Johannesburg. Every month the HOPE Centre team takes to the streets to give a helping hand in an area where awareness for diabetes and hypertension is often low. Project HOPE screens, educates and advises residents of the community on their status and the healthy practices that can help prevent non-communicable diseases.

So for the HOPE centre, the activities of ”World Hypertension Day” are a frequent occurrence. However, Saturday the 16th of May was extra cheerful and involved screenings as well as numerous volunteers from Monash University and the local community who drew attention to the HOPE Centre staff’s activities and the burden of NCDs with a flash mob dancing in the streets!

103 residents participated in the screening for hypertension and diabetes on the ”World Hypertension Day” event that was held on Saturday 16th of May in Zandspruit. Half of those who were screened were referred to the HOPE Clinic for future check-ups due to the high rate of undiagnosed hypertension that we often find in the community.

By offering free screening opportunities like this one, Project HOPE is detecting NCDs early and getting people into appropriate treatment when necessary to improve patients’ quality of life.

We were supported by a wonderful team of 43 volunteers!

We are grateful for the help and support from the nurses of Empilweni Nursing College in Randburg who helped us weigh and measure patients so we could check their BMI, prick fingers to assess diabetes risk, take blood pressure, educate residents about their results, and where necessary refer people to the HOPE Centre clinic. All participants that came for the screening tests received education materials about the risks of diabetes and hypertension and some fruit to promote a healthy diet. Some people also just came to chat or to dance with the HOPE centre staff and volunteers!

We also want to thank the cheerful group of happy flash mob dancers from the Red Drop organisation at Monash University who provided some light-hearted fun on the day for everyone around! 

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