What Madiba got for Christmas
Christmas starts early for the world’s favourite elder statesman, Nelson Mandela.
Although presents pour in throughout the year from all corners of the globe, peak times are his birthday on July 18 and Christmas, according to staff members of the flagship Nelson Mandela Foundation who are busy listing and storing the latest batch of goodies flooding in since last month.
“The range of gifts is truly awesome,” said Verne Harris, the project manager of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory. “They vary from livestock to books and memorabilia; homemade jams and marmalade to whisky.
This year’s offerings include a silver bottle opener crafted by Tiffany and Company, the famed New York jewellers, and the entire King James version of the Bible in minute print on a single sheet of paper bordered by an extravagantly bold frame.
“Last year a merino sheep breeder gave him three of his best sheep and he was delighted,” said Harris. “And [South African tennis star] Amanda Coetzer gave him personalised running shoes with his name emblazoned on them.”
Other gifts are humble and from the heart.
“An Afrikaner prisoner who is spending 25 years in a Johannesburg prison sends him a homemade present every year, as Mandela is his hero,” said Boniswa Qabaka-Nyeti, information resource officer at the foundation.
“Last year it was a papier mâchÃ
