A major gala event was held to celebrate the centenary of Nelson Mandela‘s birth. The charity dinner was attended by many celebrities from South Africa, the US and Britain and was hosted by Bonang Matheba.
The gala took place at the Rosewood Hotel in central London, the star-studded Global Gift charity gala was given a special focus this year – Nelson Mandela’s vital legacy in this, the cententary of Madiba’s birth.
“What I want people to take from this is just to know and understand the history, the story of South Africa. The people, the struggles, but also leave with a bit of excitement for our country, for our future, for things that are just possible,” says Matheba.
For the first time, the Global Gift philanthropic non-profit partnered with the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
“We’re hoping that tonight will remind celebrities who are here about their responsibility towards humanity because Madiba said many times that one shouldn’t be just celebrated for who they are, but you should remember where you come from and as you rise there are many that are left behind, we must a least try and carry them along,” says the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Sello Hatang.
Among the stars in attendance was Vanessa Williams, the American actress and singer is also honorary chair of the gala.
“The fact that we can honour Nelson Mandela’s work particularly at this time in our world where we need compassion, we need respect, we need a broader view of equality, his legacy lives on and I’m just happy that I get a chance to introduce the evening and just bring more light to what he’s done in the past.”
Founder of the Foundation Maria Bravo says money is being raised for new schools in South Africa and Europe a fitting reflection of Nelson Mandela’s commitment to education.
“We have children in South Africa who need the basics, they need to be fed, education, clean clothes, medical care. We think everybody here can achieve that to better the lives of these children just by donating their something, even their time, even their voice”
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