Make the change: Become a Mandela Day Change-maker
At the beginning of this month, I was fortunate enough to vist the Nelson Mandela Capture Sight in the KZN Midlands. Marking the 50-year anniversary of what began Nelson Mandela’s “long walk to freedom” – and the piece of land that irrevocably altered the history of South Africa – is an immensely powerful sculpture, set into the environment of this silently potent space, the likes of which I have never seen before.
This extraordinary sculpture (pictured above) was created by artist Marco Cianfanelli and is comprised of 50 steel column constructions – each measuring between 6.5 and 9.5 metres tall . The approach to the site, leads one down a path towards the sculpture where, at a distance of exactly 35 metres, an image of Nelson Mandela’s face suddenly comes into focus as the 50 linear vertical units line up to create the illusion of an image of Madiba looking West.
The effect of Cianfanelli’s image of Mandela is quite remarkable, which effect Cianfanelli describes as a ‘structural paradox’: “The 50 columns represent the 50 years since his capture, but they also suggest the idea of many making the whole; of solidarity. It points to an irony, as the political act of Mandela’s incarceration cemented his status as an icon of struggle, which helped ferment the groundswell of resistance, solidarity and uprising, bringing about political change and democracy.”
Change was the gift given to all South Africans by Nelson Mandela.
Now it’s our turn.
In the spirit of Madiba and his vision to spread justice and freedom for all, by becoming ‘Mandela Day Change-makers’ we too can show that actions speak louder than words by giving to make a positive change to this country.
Whether as an individual, community, business, NGO or a government department, all you have to do on Madiba’s birthday, July 18 is donate 67 minutes of your day to doing something good in any way you can. Nelson Mandela gave 67 years of his life to the struggle for social justice. Can you spare 67 minutes of yours to support a charity or serve your local community?
If you do not have the time to give back your 67 minutes, please consider donating R67 to The DNA Project to become a Change-maker: if only 1,000 people gave R67 each we could raise R67 000 which would provide at least 100 free DNA Awareness workshops to first on crime scene responders. How will this be giving back to the greater good of South Africa? Well, for every additional person who can be taught about the importance of preserving crime scene evidence at a crime scene, which will enable Crime Scene Investigators to positively link the perpetrators to the crime, we can ensure that criminals are held accountable for their actions and prevented from committing further crimes, making our society a safer, better place to live.
How do I donate my R67?
Its easy, click here and simply follow the instructions.
Thank you for your support.
Vanessa Lynch & The DNA Project Team
