Visiting Nelson Mandela's hospital

The other day, I was able to visit the hospital Nelson Mandela is at, which is a few minutes from my hotel and was a great experience.  The importance of this man to the country could be seen in the many pictures, letters, flowers, and people who were there.   

Some were there to pay their respects as they accepted his eventual passing, some were there as reporters waiting for the passing to happen, some were there to pray for his healing and others were there because they had no where else to go. 

While myself and my colleagues were there, we were interviewed by a local newspaper as to why we were there and what our experiences were like as American students. 

As I was reading the many notes left, one stuck out:

As I continued walking around, I noticed a boy who looked very similar to the boy in the picture so I began talking to him and he explained to me his story:

He was the boy in the picture and had been in a school and had finished up until 11th grade (“Grade 11” here) until his parents both passed away.  He had dropped out of school because he had no money, had no support, and had been staying outside of Mandela’s hospital since Madiba was hospitalized.  This boy had lost everything and Madiba, the man he looked up to, was all he had left and gravitated toward him.  He began working for a photographer 2 days ago who agreed to help him out.  I spoke to him about why he dropped out and his main reasons were finances and the loss of his family.  He felt as if he had failed Madiba, who he knew wanted him to get educated, but he felt hopeless.  

 In listening to his story, I saw many of the students I had taught and the hopelessness they felt as a result of the difficult circumstances of their upbringing.  He maintained a desire to finish school, but had nowhere to turn.  I decided to give him 200 Rand if he agreed to promise me that he would keep this money and build on it to start saving in order to finish school.  He enthusiastically said yes and looked me in the eyes smiling saying, “I am happy. I am so happy.” after I made him say out loud that he would use the money only for school and he would do everything in his power to finish school. We talked about challenges he might face and how he would overcome them.  He ultimately promised to finish school for himself, for me, and most importantly for Madiba and South Africa. I thought this was the most fitting way to honor Madiba and help to carry on his legacy.

This experience made me realize the simple power of having parents, family, and friends who were there for me and supported me through things that I used to see as simple and easy, such as high school.  It also made me realize the power of having another person believe in you and have faith in you, as well as the power of a simple kind act.  Something as simple as listening to this boy's story, encouraging him, and giving him some help to possibly help him get back on his feet are little things that we take for granted every day, but could possibly be a defining change for someone else such as this boy.  These connections are sometimes what drive us to be a better person, because again, “I am what I am because of who we are.”