The Living Legend – Nelson Mandela

Early Life
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in Transkei, South Africa to Chief Henry Mandela of Thembu Tribe. Mandela’s patrilineal great grandfather was the king of Thembu people but it was his mother that was of this Ixhiba clan and this only made him Inkosi’s child. As to this he was not entitled to succeed the Thembu throne. Mandela’s father died of tuberculosis when he (Mandela) was barely nine years of age, and Mandela’s upbringing was passed onto a regent named Jonigintaba.

At age 16 Mandela was initiated and attended the Clarkebury Boarding Institute; there, a program to be run for three years he completed in two years. This African legend then proceeded to Healdtown and attended the Wesleyan College in Fort Beaufort. At 19 Mandela was interested in running and boxing. In 1942 he became qualified in Law at the University of Witwatersand.

Political Life
In 1944 Mandela joined African National Congress (ANC) and was of the campaign against the National Party’s apartheid policies. In 1956 he was accused of treason and was on trial till 1961 when he received acquittal. Not relenting on his goal, he championed the campaign for the military wing of the ANC which led to the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe.

For his unrelenting role towards emancipation, Mandela was arrested and sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment in 1962. Following this he was made to stand trial with some fellow leaders of ANC and the Umkhonto we Sizwe for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government by violence. This trial continued till June 12, 1964, when eight of the accused and Mandela were sentenced to life imprisonment. Mandela served his imprisonment partly at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town and at Polismoor Prison, on the mainland.

Man of focus and determination, on his release on February 11, 1990, with no ado he plunged himself back into the goal he had set out decades ago. And at the first national conference of ANC held in South Africa in 1991after Mandela’s release, he (Mandela) was elected President of the ANC.

On April 27 of 1994, the first multi-racial elections were held in the country of South Africa and the ANC won 62% of the votes. Since Mandela was the leader of the ANC he became the first black president of South Africa on May 10, 1994 till June of 1999.

Family Life
Nelson Mandela has been married three times. First, to Evelyn Ntoko Mase, but broke up after 13 years of marriage in 1957. They had 2 sons, Madiba Thembekile and Makgatho Mandela and 2 daughters, both Makaziwe together. He (Mandela) married for the second time to Winne Madikizela-Mandela, the first black social worker in Johannesburg. Together they had 2 daughters; Zenani and Zindziswa. Their Marriage ended with a divorce in March of 1996. His third Marriage was at his 80th birthday and was to Graca Machel, the widow of former Mozambican President Samora Machel.

Other Facts
In July 2001, Nelson was diagnosed with prostate cancer and was treated for it. In 2004; when he was 85 years, he declared he would not be involved in political life any more. That he wanted to spend his final years with his family.
Today he has a Foundation to his name – Nelson Mandela Foundation which contributes to the making of a just society by promoting the values, vision and work of the founder.

For his work, he had received more than 250 awards, and the most notable of these awards is the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize award.

On June 20, 2011, First Lady Michelle Obama and her family paid their respect to Nelson Mandela at South Africa.

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The Man Who Mapped The World

Hitherto, you have wondered “what is life? How can I make something good out of my life? I bet you; by the time you are through with this piece something must have changed in you…

Geradus Mercator was born 1512 in Rupelmonde, Belgium. After graduating from the University of Louvain, he studied the teachings of the philosophers and discovered they did not conform to the Moses version of the creation of the world. In respect of this, Mercator started a quest which he was on throughout his life.

In 1534, Mercator began to study Mathematics, Astronomy, and Geography. By 1536, he had greatly evolved and worked as an engraver with Gemma Frisius and Van der Heyden in the production of a terrestrial globe. By 1537, Mercator made his first map – the map of the Holy Land, which identified more than 400 places and showed the route followed by the Israelites on their journey through the desert after the Exodus. In 1538, this time when mapmakers knew little about North America, calling it the Unknown Distant Land. Mercator published a world map that made him the first to apply the name “America” to both North and South America.

In February 1544, Mercator was accused of heresy and convicted. On his release after 7 months of imprisonment, all his belongings were confiscated (but not his mind and vision). In his search for more tolerant religious climate, in 1552, he moved to Duisburg, Germany.

Mercator continued in his quest, devoted to making a synthesis, or overview, of the entire creation of heaven and earth. In his aim to help readers understand their place in time and history, in 1569, Mercator published the first part of his synthesis, entitled Chronologia. In the years that followed, Mercator devoted much time to develop drawings and engraved plates for the maps of his new geography.

In his days, the major problem faced by mapmakers is how to project the globe on a flat map. Mercator, a diligent and unyielding trendsetter solved the problem by introducing a system that is known as the Mercator projection (used in ocean maps and modern Global Positioning System). In 1590, Mercator suffered a stroke that made it extremely difficult for him to continue his work. However, he still continued till he died at the age of 82 in 1594. His son Rumold completed his five unfinished maps and the completed collection of Mercator’s maps was published in 1595. It was the first collection of maps to bear the name atlas.

Today, whenever we consult an atlas or switch on a GPS, we are benefiting from the labours of Mercator, a trendsetter who programmed his life to seek to know his time and place in God’s creation. No wonder he called titled his study “The Goal of My Labour”.

What is your goal? What is your vision? What do you want to be remembered for? Map out your life today and live by the map, then you are great.