Have South African Businesses Lost The True Spirit of Mandela Day?

This spirit seems to have been lost in recent years, and more and more we see companies trying to piggyback off this day for their financial gain.

The Mandela Day campaign message

First established by the Nelson Mandela Foundation. People were asked to donate 67 minutes of their time to help others. The 67 minutes was to represent 67 years Nelson Mandela spent fighting for social justice in South Africa. The Mandela Day campaign set out to the achieve the following:

• Fight poverty
• Promote peace
• Aid reconciliation
• Cultural diversity

The time dedicated was to the cause is purely selfless - no self-gain, do good deeds and give back to those less fortunate and promote positivity and harmony in South Africa.

Celebrating The Mandela Day

I remember back in 2009 the company I worked for was teaming with eager employees looking to join causes to contribute there 67 minutes.