Planting hope: Mandela Day 2025 starts early in Berea, Johannesburg
The Nelson Mandela Foundation team kicked off this year’s Mandela Day activities on Wednesday with a hands-on visit to Growing Seeds Pre-School in Berea, Johannesburg.
The day marked the beginning of a series of build-up events leading to Mandela Day on 18 July, echoing the 2025 theme: “It is in Your Hands: Combat Poverty and Inequity.”
The theme is not just a slogan; it is a call to action. And in Berea, that call was met with rolled-up sleeves, soil under fingernails and laughter carried through the winter air.
Growing Seeds is one of many under-resourced early childhood development (ECD) centres in South Africa, spaces that provide safety, learning and care to children in vulnerable communities.
The foundation’s staff took time away from their desks to help improve the site by cleaning the aftercare facility, planting a vegetable garden, upgrading the paving area, and installing grass and play sand by the jungle gym and swing area.
The work was intentional, and the new paving will create a safer space for children to ride their scooters and enjoy playtime freely, something many of them hadn’t been able to do safely before.
The team also planted a vegetable garden, which was designed to boost the center’s nutrition offering and introduce the children to the importance of growing food. This was not just an act of service; it was an embodiment of Mandela Day’s core message: that each of us has the power to make a difference, no matter how small the act.
“This Mandela Month, we at the Nelson Mandela Foundation invite you to join us in doing something meaningful, to change someone’s life and make it a little better,” said Dr Mbongiseni Buthelezi, CEO of the Foundation.
“We ask you to do what you can, with what you have, where you are. As Madiba said, ‘It is still in your hands.’ It is still in our hands to do something, to change something, for someone. We’ve done our part here today to launch Nelson Mandela Month, and we encourage you to do the same wherever you are. Every little bit counts,” he added.
The Foundation invites everyone around the world, including individuals, communities, and organisations, to take action in ways that are practical, meaningful, and rooted in solidarity this Mandela Day.
