Thank you for remembering the 4th anniversary of our founder’s passing, Madiba, on 5th December 2017. This festive season please continue in his legacy of changing the way society treats its children and youth. In the words of Nelson Mandela at the launch of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund 23 years ago; “As we set about building a new South Africa, one of our highest priorities must be our children. The vision of a new society that guides us should already be manifest in the steps we take to address the wrong done to our youth and to prepare for their future. Our actions and policies, and the institutions we create, should be eloquent with care, respect and love.”

International Volunteer Day (IVD) mandated by the UN General Assembly, is held each year on 5 December. It is viewed as a unique chance for volunteers and organizations to celebrate their efforts, to share their values, and to promote their work among their communities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), United Nations agencies, government authorities and the private sector.
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2017 Theme: Volunteers Act First. Here. Everywhere.
The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, its brain-child the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital in collaboration with the United Nations’ Volunteering team hosted a Volunteer Recognition ceremony at the newly built Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.

Volunteers were addressed and certificates of appreciation handed over by the Fund’s CEO Ms Sibongile Mkhabela, with words of encouragement she quoted the former statesman Mr. Nelson Mandela; “in the words of our father Mr Nelson Mandela, when asked if the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund will die when he dies, he answered by saying; ‘as long as there are good men and women there will continue to be a Children’s Fund.’ Nelson Mandela was talking about people like you and I. Today we celebrate volunteers who are here today and those who have over the years been supportive to our cause and afforded us the opportunity to reach where we are today as the Children’s Fund and the Children’s Hospital. “

One of the volunteers present was Mr. Thabi Poopedi, whose life has been dedicated to making a difference in people’s lives. Mr. Poopedi is a young Management Consultant at Accenture who is originally from Limpopo. The volunteering spirit was inherited from his parents and since a very tender age has been making a difference in people’s lives.

He is currently working in an organisation called Oratilwe which he established and is involved in various projects around the country which include a Soup Kitchen in Pretoria’s Church Square, which caters for the homeless and a Place of Safety in Polokwane, where they normally host talent shows for children, have a small braais and hand over gifts to children around Christmas Time in order to show love and appreciation to the little souls.

“Growing up I noticed how my parents gave their time and were always committed to the community, my mother was a qualified nurse and could have taken a better job in the city but she opted to work in a township clinic just outside Polokwane to make a difference in the community, this is where my spirit of giving and volunteerism was brewed” - Mr. Thabi Poopedi concluded.

The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund remembers the passing of its founder, Nelson R. Mandela, on 5 December 2017. It is now 4 years since he passed on - we remember him by celebrating Africa’s Children, our hope and inspiration.

The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children is an international awareness-raising campaign. It takes place every year from 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to 10 December (International Human Rights Day). The period includes Universal Children’s Day and World AIDS Day (01 December).
South Africa adopted the campaign in 1998 as one of the intervention strategies towards creating a society free of violence. The campaign continues to raise awareness amongst South Africans about the negative impact of violence against women and children on all members of the community.
At the launch of the 16 Days Campaign on 25 of November 2014, President Jacob Zuma said that activism against gender-based violence should be a yearlong campaign and not limited to 16 days. The Department of Women heeded the President’s call and launched the “365 Days for No Violence Against Women and Children” (#365DaysCampaign) and “#CountMeIn.”
Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (the Fund) is an advocacy development agency and a leading champion for the general well-being of children founded in 1995 by the former statesman Mr. Nelson Mandela. The Fund’s mandate is to address issues that affect children and youth, particularly those living in disadvantaged situations that place them in vulnerable circumstances. The Fund’s advocacy work directs it to make input into legislative and public policy development with impact on children’s well-being by changing the way society treats its children and youth, through its five year programmes.
The nature of the challenges facing the children and youth continues to change from time to time. As a learning organisation, Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund builds sustainable partnerships in pursuance of its vision.
The 2016-2021 Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund strategy themed “the Legacy lives on – building a strong foundation for children” has its focus on the programmatic focus areas which have been clustered into three overarching themes for interventions; Child Survival and Development, Child Safety and Protection, Youth Leadership.
Violence against women and children impacts on every aspect of life in South Africa. There are different forms of abuse that women and children my experience which includes emotional abuse, physical abuse, rape, sexual harassment, child abuse and financial abuse.
The 16 Days of Activism accelerates the work that the Fund is doing in various communities which aim to curb the abuse of women and children.
Some people are not well educated about crimes against women and children 16 Days of Activism and Women’s Month allow us to create awareness and the space people to have such discussions.
The 16 Days of Activism is a worldwide campaign opposing violence against women and children, with the aim of raising awareness of the negative impact violence and abuse have on women and children and society as a whole.

Every year since 1988 the 1st of December has been designated as World Aids Day. This day is dedicated to raising awareness of the Aids pandemic to remember those we lost to the disease. Let us not forget all the children that have been affected as a result. #WorldAIDSDay
In 2015, global leaders signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals, with the aim to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030. The UHC framework now lies at the centre of all health programmes.

To complement the global World AIDS Day 2017 campaign which promotes the theme "Right to health", the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund would like to highlight the need for people living with HIV and those who are vulnerable and affected by the epidemic, to reach the goal of universal health coverage.
Under the slogan "Everybody counts", the Fund advocate for access to safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines, as well as health care services for all people in need, while also ensuring that their overall well-being is prioritised.