Nelson Mandela

Celebrate Madiba at Freedom Park

12 July 2013

Freedom Park is offering members of the public a free platform to demonstrate their support for ailing former president Nelson Mandela.

Freedom Park CEO Fana Jiyane said on Wednesday that visitors to the facility outside Pretoria were invited to join in prayer, leave flowers, light a candle, celebrate the legacy of Mandela in song, poetry or other means, and offer messages of support in a special message book dedicated to Madiba.

Entrance to the park will be free for the remainder of the month of July, which has been dubbed Mandela Month.

Daily prayer services facilitated by faith leaders from different denominations and faith groups will be held at midday for the rest of July.

Jiyane said the nation shared the pain that Mandela'’s family was going through because of the state of his health, adding that there was a need for spaces of healing to allow for the outpouring of emotions for those who wanted to show their support for Madiba.

Freedom Park and its facilities were created as spaces not just for the memory of those, such as Mandela, who had contributed to the country's freedom, but also as a spiritual place of healing for the wounds of the past.

Jiyane said the park offered a dignified outdoor space for spiritual and interfaith prayers for Mandela. The park's Sanctuary, overlooking the outdoor amphitheatre and the eternal flame, was a serene environment conducive to this, Jiyane added.

He said the //hapo Interpretive Centre at Freedom Park, officially opened by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe in April , was a fulfilment of Mandela's dream and a fitting tribute to his legacy.

In a 1999 speech at Umthatha in the Eastern Cape, Mandela said: "The day should not be far off, when we shall have a people's shrine, a Freedom Park, where we shall honour with all the dignity they deserve, those who endured pain so we should experience the joy of freedom."

Jiyane said Mandela Month ought to be used "not only to pray for strength and God's presence for Madiba and his family, but to create awareness of his great legacy and gift for the world.

"Tata Mandela is the Chief Patron of Freedom Park, a national and international icon of humanity and freedom, a hero of the struggle against apartheid and colonialism, and the father of reconciliation in our land."

As part of the activities for Mandela Month, the park will also conduct exhibitions, seminars and lectures highlighting Mandela's contribution and his values.

SAinfo reporter

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