MANDELA DAY 2025: Living Mandela's Enduring Legacy
Crafting for a Cause: Our Mandela Day Toy Project
In the week, leading up to our central Mandela Day service, our girls were hard at work dedicating their time to a special toy-making project in partnership with Toys to Good. This initiative provided a wonderful opportunity for our girls across all grades to craft a variety of handmade toys from recycled materials for donation to Early Childhood Development centres. It was inspiring to see the diverse skills and creativity on display as each grade embraced the challenge of bringing joy to others. From imaginative creatures to engaging games, our girls poured their ingenuity into transforming everyday items into whimsical treasures. This hands-on experience not only fostered creativity but also deepened their understanding of giving back to those less fortunate within our Gauteng community.
A Day of Unified Service: Our Prep Schools' Mandela Day Ceremony
The week of acts of service and kindness culminated in an inspiring Mandela Day service, a powerful display of unity and shared purpose involving three of our family of schools – the Junior Prep, Girls’ Prep and Boys’ Prep. The service served as a highlight of our celebrations, bringing together our school communities in reflection and commitment, and reinforcing the principle that "we rise by lifting others and making sure we don’t leave anyone behind."
Reverend Thandeka of our Junior Prep delivered a powerful and insightful address. Drawing from the biblical encounter where Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me?", she connected this to showing love through our actions of service to others. Reverend Thandeka highlighted how Nelson Mandela himself embodied the nine Fruit of the Spirit – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control – in his life's work. Her message emphasised that "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others" (Mahatma Gandhi) and that "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted" (Aesop). She reminded us that, just as Jesus asked Peter to "feed His sheep," we too are called to care for those around us, standing up for what is right, and being kind and generous.
Adding to the richness of the occasion, South African poet and past long-serving St Stithians staff member, Ruth Everson graced us with a moving rendition of her iconic poem, 'Madiba 9.' Her words beautifully captured the enduring spirit of Nelson Mandela's journey, resonating with themes of justice, reconciliation, and hope that continue to inspire us all.
This collaborative service also served as the platform for the formal presentation of our sports ball collection. We were especially honoured to welcome representatives from our beneficiary organisations, Orchard Primary School, Akali Methodist School, and Multi Sports Academy, to the ceremony. Their presence truly reminded us of the purpose of our collective effort, and we extend our sincere gratitude to them for being there to receive the donations. Inspired by Nelson Mandela's powerful observation that "Sport has the power to change the world...," the soccer, netball, rugby, tennis, and basketballs, gathered through the generous contributions of our entire school community, were proudly presented. This donation symbolises our commitment to fostering positive development and lifting others through play, directly putting into action the messages shared during the service.
To all our students, staff, and parents across the Boys' Prep, Girls' Prep, and Junior Prep, your incredible generosity and dedication made our Mandela Day initiatives a resounding success. Your collective efforts truly demonstrate our commitment to community engagement and help us live out the call to "make every day a Mandela Day" through acts of kindness and service, embodying the principle to "do small things with great love."
