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The Chief Executive Officer Mrs. Sibongile (Bongi) Mkhabela
NMCF CEO Sibongile Mkhabela's message on the 14 th edition of the Nelson Mandela Challenge, featuring South Africa and Cameroon national soccer teams, on November 19, 2008 The Nelson Mandela Challenge (NMC) represents an annual pledge by the football community to a cause initiated by our Founding Chairman and South Africa 's first democratic President, Nelson Mandela when he established the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund in 1995. The principle aim of holding the challenge is to bring to public attention, the need for society treat its children and youth better by promoting their well being and to enhance their positive development as society's future leaders. To this end, Mandela challenged the world, the country and civil society organizations, high powered individuals and ordinary people to make their share of contribution to a cause for which he had established the Fund. The Nelson Mandela Challenge therefore represents the football community's response to that challenge. And this how football came to be the ambassadors to the cause through the South African Football Association. By stepping forward, the Royal Bafokeng Holdings has presented itself as one of the examples of business support to the cause. The financial support we receive helps us to make a difference albeit within the constraints of our capacity while government can only scale-up what has proven to be our successfully implemented models nationwide. The Nelson Mandela Challenge is incidentally the same age as our country's democracy. SA's first democratic elections were held on April 27, 2004; May 10, saw Nelson Mandela's official inauguration as President of the Republic of South Africa . Two days later, on May 12, Bafana Bafana was pitted against Zambia 's national in which SA won 2-1. That heralded the beginning of the Nelson Mandela Challenge. Since then SA's national soccer team has played various national soccer teams with the game against Cameroon being the 14 edition of the Nelson Mandela Challenge. The game comes in the year of founder's 90 th birthday. The encounter comes on the 13 th year of the Fund's existence - just one year younger than SA's 14 years of democracy. That Bafana Bafana is playing Cameroon should be inspirational because of the caliber of the team they are. The fact that Cameroon lies 12 in the FIFA rankings should give SA's national team, currently at 85th position, a source of inspiration to improve its status. As the patron and face of the tournament, this should lives our founder content, that football, as number one spot, has thrown its weight behind the Fund. The support from the football community is not only in financial but also positioned the beautiful game as the ambassador to the cause. Nothing better sums up the cause than the words of our Founder, Nelson Mandela: "Ours is a mission to make our world to be familiar with smiles of children rather than their tears. And if this were to be realized, our families would be stronger, our communities safer, our youth happier, and Governments will be in relative peace with their citizens."Every pledge that the Fund receives, is a step in the direction in the creation of the wonderful world so movingly described in Mandela's words. November 18 , 2008
SIBONGILE MKHABELA (MS)
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Nelson Mandela Children's Fund
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