Karen Allen in Johannesburg says South Africans of all ages are celebrating
Continue reading the main story
Nelson Mandela is spending his 95th birthday in hospital in Pretoria, as events take place around the world and in South Africa in his honour.
South Africans are being urged to mark the former president and anti-apartheid leader's 67 years of public service with 67 minutes of charitable acts.
Mr Mandela, who is in critical but stable condition with a recurring lung infection, entered hospital on 8 June.
President Jacob Zuma said his health was "steadily improving".
"We are proud to call this international icon our own as South Africans and wish him good health," Mr Zuma said in a statement.
"We thank all our people for supporting Madiba throughout the hospitalization with undying love and compassion," he said, referring to Mandela's clan name.
Mr Mandela's daughter, Zindzi, said on Wednesday he had made "dramatic progress", and that she had found him watching television with headphones on and communicating with his eyes and hands when she visited him this week.
"I should think he will be going home anytime soon,'' she told the UK's Sky News television.
Mr Mandela's birthday is also Nelson Mandela International Day, a day declared by the UN as a way to recognize the Nobel Prize winner's contribution to reconciliation.
No comments:
Post a Comment