Nelson Mandela Biography

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Nelson Mandela was, and always will be, one of the greatest leaders in history. Even though he was charged with treason, Nelson Mandela did not stop standing up for South African human rights and the democratic society and made a complimentary impact by obtaining independence for his country.
Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Mvezo, Transkei, on July 18, 1918. Because of his father’s misfortunes at work, the family was forced to move and live in the huts of the smaller village, Qunu, when Mandela was only an infant. For food, they could only afford harvest goods, which they cooked outside, and for water, they drank out of a nearby spring. For games, Mandela acted out male rites-of-passage scenarios with toys he made from natural materials he had obtained in the surrounding nature.
Mandela was baptized and became the first in his family to attend school, and as a custom, the teacher gave him a British name, Nelson. When Mandela was 12, his father died of lung disease. Feeling obliged, Chief Jongintaba adopted Mandela and took him into the royal chief residence in Mqhekezweni and gave him the status and the responsibility equal to two of his own children. From then on, Mandela studied in a one-room school next to the palace. That was the time he started to become interested in African History and learned about the unfair treatment of the British towards the defenceless Africans. At the age of 16, Mandela received the traditional ritual that marked his entry into manhood. For education, as a royalty, Mandela first attended the Clarkebury Boarding Institute and Wesleyan College, then University College of Fort Hare in 1939 to prepare for the job of an interpreter or clerk. During the second year at Fort Hare, Mandela was elected Studen...

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...e Prize, keys to cities, and honorary degrees. Many statues were erected in honor of Nelson Mandela, many bridges and streets named after him, and postage stamps made with his portraits. One Museum, filled to the brim of things relating to Mandela and his activities rebelling against the government, has been situated near the village of Qunu. Also a funding group called the Nelson Mandela Children’s fund was created to help the children of Africa to better the treatment they receive from others, and the Nelson Mandela AIDS was formed to make contributions in the treatment of AIDS victims in Africa.
All in all, Nelson Mandela was a great leader who, through all the hardships, was able to change the ways of his country for the better. He did not lose hope after the imprisonment. Instead, he chose to defy the government more by rejecting their proposals of freedom.

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