Nelson Mandela

‘‘A winner is a dreamer who never gives up’’ said Nelson Mandela. As you will soon see, Nelson Mandela has a very interesting background and a lot of bold and brave actions, that later led to many outstanding achievements. From all the hard times he had to face, to becoming an inspiration to many. Nelson should be a hero of many and is willing to fight for what he believes in and what is right.

Did you know a baby was born, Nelson Mandela, whose name happens to mean tree shaker. Nelson was born on the day of July 18, 1918.  He grew up in South Africa, had a foster dad and studied law. Mandela became a lawyer in the early 1940s. This lawyer had many kids and more than one wife, which is cultural where he is from. Nelson, a daring and brave hero who wanted equal rights for South African black people,  joined ANC. ANC stands for African National Congress. It was a secret military force that got Mandela in trouble. Him and the other ANC leaders got sentenced in prison for life. He became famous in prison and many South Africans tried to free him. Finally in 1990 South African President F.W de Klerk freed him!

Nelson MandelaWikimedia Commons 

It's hard to believe that someone who spent nearly 30 years in prison became the first black South African president and a big inspiration to others. After Mandela was freed, South Africans of all races voted in the country’s first fully democratic election in 1994.

 Soon, Nelson Mandela was elected president of the country. F.W de  Klerk and Nelson Mandela worked together to end apartheid. Apartheid is a system of segregation on grounds of race. They were both awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. After Mandela's presidency, he set up the Mandela Foundation. It promoted peace and human rights. But, he also set up something called Truth and Reconciliation Commision, they investigated human rights crimes that happened over the former government. Unfortunately from all the great things he’s done, sadly Nelson Mandela passed away on the day of December 5, 2013, because of a respiratory infection.

As you can see, Nelson has done a lot of great things in his lifetime. Through his fascinating background, to all his accomplishments, he is my hero. To think about all the amazing things he’s done and sacrificed to change the lives of others is my definition, of a hero. I think, though Nelson Mandela brave, gutsy and truly makes selfless actions is what makes Nelson Mandela a very true hero and my inspiration.

Sources

Who Was Nelson Mandela By Meg Belviso and Pam Pollack

https://www.goalcast.com/

https://school.eb.com/?target=%2Flevels