“Together Against COVID-19”
#2019MWF alumni distributes COVID-19 preventive items to the elder in Gumbo
“How Can I Contribute To Prevent Coronavirus?”
JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN: The 2019 Mandela Washington Fellowship alumni have distributed face masks, COVID-19 preventive items to the elder in Gumbo Sherikat to commemorate the Mandela Day celebrated last Saturday.
The 2019 Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni distributed face masks, hand sanitizers and hand wash buckets in Gumbo Sherikat to the elderly and other vulnerable people. Other beneficiaries such as farmers were given seeds from UN Food and agriculture Organization (FAO).
One of the alumni, Kiden Zaida Ibrahim, who represented the fellowship alumni said Mandela’s leadership inspired her to help develop South Sudan.
Ibrahim said South Sudan’s youth who instigate violence would be more useful if they emulated Mandela and worked to promote peaceful co-existence of all communities in South Sudan.
“Nelson Mandela was a freedom fighter and he fought for people’ rights, for equality, for integrity [and] for accountability. And that’s what we want in our country.” Ibrahim told The Insider, adding Mandela fought against the apartheid policy and wanted peace for his people and in our country, we need the same.
“We may not have apartheid policy, but we have divisions of all sorts in the country and we need peace.” Ibrahim said.
The fellows also participated in the unveiling of a Nelson Mandela painting at the Dr. John Garang International School over the weekend as many South Sudanese joined the rest of the world in marking Mandela Day, July 18th.
Rebecca Nyandeng, the widow of SPLM founder John Garang who is also one of South Sudan’s vice presidents, unveiled the Mandela painting.
She said the two former leaders met in Cape Town, South Africa in August 1997. Although Nyandeng doesn’t know what the two men talked about the day they met, she said Garang later named a SPLA battalion after Mandela, which she called a symbol of his respect and admiration for the former South African president.
“At the time my husband was welcomed by the South Africans as a rebel leader and of course Mandela was respected globally as a peacemaker. On this day at this venue I have no doubt that the rebel leader and the peacemaker have united once again to watch over us as we celebrate and emulate their powerful legacies.” Nyandeng said.
Mandela and Garang shared many things in common says Nyandeng, including growing up in cattle camps, being underestimated and marginalized in schools and drawing strength from those struggles.
“Nelson Mandela once said, ‘what counts in life are not the mere fact that we have lived, it’s what difference we have made in the lives of others that will determine the significance of the lives we lead.’ She said adding that for her as a revolutionary who was side by side with her late husband Dr. John, she felt like the Mandela is “our father who has inspired us” even through the hard times.
“but when you are consistent with your message and you believe in God, you believe in yourself and you believe in what you are doing, by the end of the day you win.” She said, urging people in the private, government and NGO sectors to support youth led activities aimed at containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Various youths who participated in the Mandela mural unveiling and the distribution of the novel Coronavirus preventive kits flooded the social media space in South Sudan.
Animu Athiei, one of the volunteers who collaborated with the 2019 Mandela Washington Fellowship alumni posted twitter that she was
So grateful to have moderated and been part of the official unveiling ceremony of the Nelson Mandela Mural in Juba as part of the youth led celebrations of the Mandela Day.
Juba resident Mandela Nelson Denis, who was named after Mandela, joined other youth celebrating Mandela’s legacy. He says he is proud of young South Sudanese leaders who are following in Mandela’s footsteps and are fighting the COVID-19 pandemic by producing local masks, soaps and hand sanitizers.
“He (Mandela) was able to lead only for a term and gave chance for other people, he had a feeling that he played his part and wanted someone to pick-up from there. If you have been a leader for more than ten years, give it to your brother. Let them have a chance.”
Denis pointed out that Mandela was able to forgive his enemies even after they imprisoned him for 27 years and mistreated his people in South Africa. He urged South Sudanese to emulate Mandela.
“Our country is a very beautiful country. We have a lot of beautiful things, let’s forgive one another, let’s love one another and let’s lift up one another. Let’s remember the legacy of the late Nelson Mandela and how he lived his life and try to live exactly the way he lived his life.”
Denis, who was born on February 11th 1990, the day Nelson Mandela was released from prison, says he will forever remain grateful to his parents for naming him after the global peacemaker.
Nelson Mandela died in December 2013 at the age of 95 in Johannesburg. He was the first elected President of South Africa. Mandela received the Nobel peace prize in 1993.
This year’s theme was “Together Against COVID-19”. the program was funded by the US Department of state in collaboration with the US Embassy in Juba, South Sudan and implemented by The 2019 Mandela Washington Fellowship alumni and all the US Exchange Program Association.
Recent Comments