Why bother with Mandela Day?

Instead of thinking about doing something [on Mandela Day], do something.

Nelson Mandela was, to many, the “man” we wanted to be, and still want to be. To Barack Obama, he was more than just a man, he was a symbol worldwide of the struggle for justice, equality, and dignity. His sacrifice was so great that it called on people everywhere to do what they could on behalf of human progress, according to Obama.

My personal experiences with this remarkable man were enacted sitting in his living room, talking, dreaming, and planning what the world might be like for children, all children, who might build the Rainbow Nation Madiba envisaged.

My sense of Madiba’s vision came from how he had spoken of a future for us all, which needed to be built today, step by step, brick by brick, with every South African playing their part.

Madiba had respect for every South African, irrespective of status, premised on the belief that each of us had to play our role, no matter how material. But play in the game of reconstruction we must.

In one of our sessions, with my 10-year-old daughter, Takara, present, he called for Zelda [la Grange, his assistant] to bring a pen and notebook and instructed Takara to take minutes of our meeting. He did not want anyone to sit idle while there was work to be done.

It was while sitting there with Madiba in his home 21 years ago that we started the Smile Foundation, which provides surgical and psychosocial support to children with facial deformities. We also addressed aspects relating to skills training of surgeons, nurses, and even parents caring for their children with these challenges.

So why should we all do something for Mandela Day now? Because if he could care for us all, if he could sacrifice as much as he did for a nation he believed in, why should we not also? It’s about having a purpose and a belief in oneself. Hope is an expectation and a desire for something to happen, and Mandela Day is an opportunity to engage in creating an outcome for others, for oneself.

There is a gift in being able to give to others. Mandela Day enables us to gift others by being involved, by building trust with millions locally and around the globe who hope for a better world.

Madiba cared. He cared for every child, not looking at the publicity that our foundation raised, but rather at the outcomes of the surgeries we orchestrated, and years after, how the children progressed. He wanted insight into who had contributed to those outcomes and would invariably bring Zelda in to draft a note of thanks to those who gave of their expertise and time.

Madiba wasn’t impressed by money alone, he wanted personal involvement. He wanted the hospital staff to be present so he could thank them personally on his visits. He wrote a note to Takara motivating and instructing her to be one of South Africa’s future leaders.

Mandela Day is a day that I believe is motivation for each of us to make the chance, to be the change we want to see. Mandela Day should not be just one day of service to others, but also a reminder, a solid nudge to remember that we can bring about a better future.

As Obama so eloquently put it, “I am reminded that underneath the history that has been made, there is a human being who chose hope over fear, progress over the prisons of the past.”

• Marc Lubner is Group CEO of Afrika Tikkun, a non-profit organisation focusing on youth development from cradle to career. He is also the founder and executive chairman of the Smile Foundation.