Happy Birthday Nelson! Mandela celebrates 94th birthday with family and a big cake

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Happy Birthday Nelson! Mandela celebrates 94th birthday with family and a big cake

July 19th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Iconic leader celebrates 94th birthday at homestead in the eastern cape
Children across the country kick off party with choruses of happy birthday
Sir Alex Ferguson also sings happy birthday to Mandela as Manchester United arrive for South Africa tour
South Africans dedicate 67 minutes of the day to volunteer work
Bill Clinton also pays tribute to former president

By
Phil Vinter

PUBLISHED:

14:16 EST, 18 July 2012

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UPDATED:

14:31 EST, 18 July 2012

Nelson Mandela celebrated his 94th birthday with the whole nation today as millions of South Africans showed their love for the iconic hero of the struggle against apartheid.

Children from across country kicked off celebrations for the country’s first black president this morning with resounding choruses of Happy Birthday.

Mandela spent the day enjoy a private party with his wife Graca Macel and other members of his family at their homestead in his southeastern birth village of Qunu.

Party time: Nelson Mandela celebrated his 94th birthday today with the whole nation today as millions of South Africans showed their love for the iconic hero of the struggle against apartheid

Meanwhile, in a fitting tribute to the man who has dedicated his life to trying to improve the lot of others, communities in South Africa and around the world dedicated 67 minutes of the day to volunteer work and projects for the needy.

The time period was one minute for each of Mandela’s 67 years in public service.

Mandela became South Africa’s first black president in 1994 after spending 27 years in prison for his fight against racist apartheid rule, and was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

Tributes to Mandela also poured in from around the globe, with U.S. President Barack Obama saying Mandela ‘has changed the arc of history, transforming his country, the continent and the world.’

Ahmed Kathrada, one of Mandela’s oldest friends, said Madiba, as he is affectionately known by his Xhosa clan name, championed the dignity of all.

`’You can be rich but if you don’t
have dignity you are a second-class citizen,’ Kathrada said in a public
lecture marking the birthday celebrations.

Tokyo
Sexwale, a longtime ally in the governing African Nation Congress,
described Mandela as a global statesman who inspired the world.

At
one Johannesburg elementary school, children watched a film documenting
Mandela’s life and his years of service and sacrifice along with a
photographic display of him meeting celebrities including Beyonce,
Michael Jackson and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Spanning generations: Nelson Mandela with his great grandchildren Zesilo Hlongwane, centre in the blue jersey, and Ziyanda Manaway, right

Beautiful moment: Nelson Mandela's young great grandson Zesilo Hlongaway rests his small hand on his famous relative's shoulder as the former president puckers up for a kiss

Beautiful moment: Nelson Mandela’s young great grandson Zesilo Hlongaway rests his small hand on his famous relative’s shoulder as the former president puckers up for a kiss

Dignified: The former South African president with his wife Graca Macel at his house in Qunu, on the eastern cape

Dignified: The former South African president with his wife Graca Macel at their house in Qunu, on the eastern cape

‘Nelson
Mandela set an example to show us that reconciliation is possible,’
said 10-year-old Thakgalo Ditabe. She said she wanted Mandela to know
how much he meant to her.

Ntando Ntuli, 12, said with pride: ‘He is my hero because he fought for us. He is an icon, the king of Africa.’

In
2009, the United Nations established Nelson Mandela International Day
to honour the African leader on his birthday through acts of community
service.

In many districts,
South Africa came to a virtual standstill early this morning as
strangers greeted each other in the streets and even infants at one
pre-school waved at passersby and sang: ‘We love you, Tata,’ or `’great
father,’ a supreme term of endearment.

In the eastern port city of Durban Sir
Alex Ferguson, manager of England’s Manchester United football team
that is widely followed in Africa, sang Happy Birthday over a cake iced
with the image of the team’s yellow and red badge.

Ferguson, who met Mandela on previous visits, said ‘his presence and personality exudes all around.’

Manchester United plays the first game of its South African tour tonight.

South African churchmen and politicians urged people across the country ‘to make every day a Mandela Day.’

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton got the celebrations off to an early start yesterday.

He and daughter Chelsea met with Mandela in Qunu.

Thirsty work: Mandela sips a cup of tea during the party as his wife Graca Machel looks on admiringly

Loved: South Africa's GraÁa Machel, back and second left, claps with former American president Bill Clinton as children dance at a party to celebrate Mandela's birthday

Loved: South Africa’s GraÁa Machel, back and second left, claps with former American president Bill Clinton as children dance at a party to celebrate Mandela’s birthday

Honoured guests: Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea yesterday arrived in South Africa to join in the celebrations for Nelson Mandela

Photographs tweeted by one of Mandela’s grandsons showed the Nobel Peace Prize winner comfortably seated in an armchair with a blanket over his knees and with the Clintons and his wife, Graca Machel, at his side.

Nobel laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said the greatest gift the nation could give Mandela on Wednesday would be ‘to emulate his magnanimity and grace.’

‘Mr. Mandela taught us to love ourselves, to love one another and to love our country,’ Tutu said.

Mandela’s activism helped bring democracy and freedom to the once white-ruled South Africa.

But the country remains beset by tensions over continued white minority domination of the economy, massive unemployment, poor education and health services and the millions who remain homeless or in shacks.