Nelson Mandela back to his childhood home

Nelson Mandela in childhood home

South Africa’s anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is “happier” since he returned to a quiet life in his rural childhood village, the CEO of his children’s hospital project said Friday.

“He’s happier where he is now in Qunu. It’s quiet. No one’s bothering him every five minutes to sign something,” said Bongi Mkhabela, the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Fund.

His wife Graca Machel increasingly represents him at public events, and chairs the project to build Africa’s fifth children’s hospital in Johannesburg.

“She is very busy, besides caring for Mandela, who really doesn’t like her being absent,” Mkhabela laughed.

In his childhood, he and his family moved to Qunu, a larger village in northern Mvezo.

They were near Umtata, which is where Nelson claims to have spent the happiest years of his boyhood.

Qunu only had a population of a couple hundred people who lived in huts made of mud and floors made of crushed ant-heap.

They didn't have any furniture and slept on mats.

Everything that Nelson and his family ate and owned they grew and made themselves.

Nelson spent the majority of his childhood playing and fighting with the other boys of the village.

When he was five he would look after cattle, the Xhosa regarded them highly calling them not only a source of food and wealth,

but also a blessing from God and a source of happiness. It was in the fields where Nelson found his true happiness.

Now 94, his last public appearance was at the final of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Mandela was released from 27 years in prison in 1990 and was elected South Africa's first black president four years later. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and served one term before stepping down in 1999.

Before being elected President, Mandela was a militant anti-apartheid activist, and the leader and co-founder of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). In 1962 he was arrested and convicted of sabotage and other charges, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Mandela went on to serve 27 years in prison, spending many of these years on Robben Island. Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, Mandela led his party in the negotiations that led to the establishment of democracy in 1994. As President, he frequently gave priority to reconciliation, while introducing policies aimed at combating poverty and inequality in South Africa.

Before being elected President, Mandela was a militant anti-apartheid activist, and the leader and co-founder of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). In 1962 he was arrested and convicted of sabotage and other charges, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Mandela went on to serve 27 years in prison, spending many of these years on Robben Island. Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, Mandela led his party in the negotiations that led to the establishment of democracy in 1994. As President, he frequently gave priority to reconciliation, while introducing policies aimed at combating poverty and inequality in South Africa.

Sources:
The Raw Story
Telegraph
en.wikipedia