South African Consulate and Smile Foundation had celebrated Nelson Mandela International Day at Dharavi’s Maulana Abul Kalam Azad School
Nelson Mandela is synonymous with sacrifice, freedom and philanthropy and to keep his legacy alive, South African Consulate, in partnership with other South African State Entities, Businesses and Partners, spent time with lesser privileged children of ‘Smile Foundation’.
The message on the wall
The members of these entities gave a new lease of life to the walls of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad School at Dharavi. These walls are now coloured and decorated with brilliant graffiti and famous words of Mandela such as, “Education is the window and mirror in which you can look at the world”, “Education is the key, seize the opportunity”, “Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world”.
Spreading happiness
The slogan that marked these celebrations for the Consulate was ‘Take Action. Inspire Action. Make Every Day a Mandela Day’. They decided to do this by taking a step towards helping the lesser privileged communities in the city. Maropene Ramokgopa, South African Consul General, shared, “We are urging every Mumbaikar to do something good, or spend some time every day, which would make a difference in the life of somebody. Today, we really had a good time with the Smile Foundation children. We simply intended to spread some happiness and love amongst the lesser fortunate.”
The UN General Assembly has been celebrating this day as ‘Nelson Mandela International Day’ globally since 2009, in recognition of his contribution to justice, freedom and democracy. The Consulate members also participated in some fun and impromptu dance performances on Bollywood music along with the kids.
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