What’s a hero to you? A hero is someone who changed the world somehow, but did not do it for himself but for the good of others. I would like to tell you about Nelson Mandela that changed the world in many ways and opened the eyes of many people. Mandela was born in the village of Mvezo in South Africa on July 18, 1918. Mandela was part of the African National Congress ,ANC, which fought against apartheid or segregation laws. He was an outlaw but then was captured. After a long time in prison he finally got his freedom back after 27 years. Do you think he was happy with whites after being twenty-seven years in prison just for them? There’s no doubt Mandela is a hero because reunited black and white people in South Africa

Mandela, the hero, was mentally strong and resilient in many ways. When Nelson was nine years old, his father died .That wasn’t an excuse for Mandela to give up. He went forward and did what he had to do. He went to live with his uncle and he still went to school. His uncle was forcing him to marry a girl. Mandela didn’t wanted to get married at that time, he ran away from his uncles house and left the country side for the city.

Mandela soon saw a huge problem in Johannesburg. That huge problem was apartheid. Apartheid is a law witch separated blacks from whites. All black south Africans had to live in townships, ghetto, away from whites. Mandela took action really quickly and took part of the African National Congress witch fought against apartheid. Not everyone took the risks that Mandela did. Taking these kind of risk shows his strong Ideas and actions. He could of just been killed, instead he fought for what he believed as right, which was fighting apartheid. Mandela had to grab the attention of important people by using words and warfare.

The ANC helped Mandela use words and warfare to fight against white segregation. From Pebble Creek, the author states, “In 1962 Nelson Mandela was arrested, was charged with recruiting and training for the purpose of sabotage and violent revolution.” He went to a high security prison called Robin Island fighting for the ANC of a high security. There were no boats allowed within a mile from the island. His cell measured only 7’x7’ and there was only a mat for sleeping and two blankets. He was awakened each morning at sunrise and was put to work in the prisons limestone quarry.

After Mandela was released from prison, he turned the world around. He was welcome by millions of people who looked up to him as a freedom fighter and a hero. His status as a World leader was secured upon his return to South Africa. Mandela was released from prison at age seventy-one after 10,000 days in prison. A lot had changed in Africa, but even with Mandela’s release, his term as the president of the country ended apartheid. However, there is still much process to progress to be made there. Racism and segregation still exist. This is when Mandela took action. He had to use strong ideas and his powerful knowledge to resolve this major issue. The word here is RECONCILIATION which means forgiveness . The way Mandela did this was by a sport called rugby.

South Africa’s rugby team is called The Spring Bokkes. Black South Africans didn’t really like this team because they supported apartheid. So every time they played a game, blacks would cheer for the opposite team instead of their official South African team. The officially African team , The Bokkes, had made it to the finals which fought for world cup. The stadium was really packed or full and with any empty seats. Mandela was there too, and he went to the field and wished for the rugby team good luck. Everybody in the stadium and field was cheering for him and yelling Mandela very loudly!! The game was really competitive and it was hard to predict who was going to win. After all the hard work and the bleeding from the body of the players, they ended up winning by two points!!!!!!! Wining the world cup by two points showed that black South Africans had forgiven white South Africans . Everybody in on the field was yelling happly and hugging each other. The color of one’s skin didn’t mattere .

This game brought reconciliation and lots of peace in South Africa. This was an example to follow for many other countries too. Mandela was really pleased with what he had done and with what he had to accomplished, not only for his country but for the world too! There’s no doubt Mandela is a true hero. Nelson Mandela will always be here no matter what MANDELA THE TRUE HERO…….