Commemorating the centenary of Nelson Mandela
On the 100th birthday of Nelson Mandela, we [NEPAD Agency staff] chose the Halfway House Public Library in Midrand for our 67 minutes of service on July 18, Mandela Day. With our offices based in South Africa, we feel that it is vital for us to build relationships with the communities in our host country.
Preceding our visit, staff at the Halfway House Public Library asked for books on Africa so as to broaden their pan-African collection. In addition, NEPAD Agency was requested to open up a whole new section in the library, aptly named the ‘African Corner.’
When this was communicated to NEPAD Agency staff, it was not a surprise that many rose to the occasion and donated both books and funds towards this cause and on such a special day. Some of the authors of the books that were donated to the Halfway House Public Library include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, to name but a few. For many of us, the words of these authors have been a source of inspiration, a source of knowledge, and even a source of comfort because we could relate with them as they were written by people who are of this continent and with whom we have shared experiences. Books by these authors and others continue to play an integral part in our lives.
However, we not only donated books but also provided NEPAD publications that showcase the activities and results of the various programmes in the NEPAD Agency.
Prof Diran Makinde, Senior Advisor in the NEPAD Industrialisation, Science, Technology and Innovation Hub, on behalf of the NEPAD Agency CEO Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, mentioned how, “At NEPAD we focus on implementation of the continent’s priority programmes and projects in areas such as education, health, development and inclusiveness in order to realise the goals in Agenda 2063, Africa’s vision for transformation.”
In providing the NEPAD publications, we hope to inform the community at large on our implementation work. One of the areas that was highlighted during the event was the use of emerging technologies as a way to address many of the African continent’s problems. Some of the emerging technologies especially mentioned were: Gene Drives for Malaria Control and Elimination in Africa; Drones for Transforming Africa’s Agriculture; and Micro-grids for Empowering Communities and Enabling Transformation in Africa.
Indeed as the event was nearing its end, the senior librarian, Mr Molefe, mentioned that the books and publications will be shared with other libraries in their network as well. He also mentioned how the library is largely dependent on donations from the community, pointing out that the children’s books with stories from various parts of Africa, donated by NEPAD staff, we will also go a long way towards imparting knowledge on the rest of the continent to the young patrons of the library.
As the NEPAD Agency we rejoice in our diversity. We have staff from all over the continent and for many of us, we have been in inspired by the works and teaching of Tata Mandela. It was an honour for us to celebrate his 100th birthday through service and engagement with the Halfway House Public Library, and we aim to continue building on the relationship that has now been firmly established.