No, it's not Nelson Mandela's birthday today but on
18th July he will turn 92. The ONE organization is asking peple around the world to honour him on his birthday and thank him for nearly a century of life-changing work by adding their (our) photo to a giant birthday card. I think that's a brilliant idea and the great old man will like it!
When Mandela was born, his father named him Rolihlahla, an Xhosa word affectionately meaning "troublemaker". While the world would later come to know this boy as Nelson—the English name given by his teacher on his first day of school—Mandela has spent a lifetime stirring up an inspiring dose of trouble.
From an early age, Mandela acted boldly for those in need. He battled against apartheid, spending almost 27 years in prison to stand up for what he knew was right. He fought to make sure that every South African was given the honour of a vote, leading the country to its first free and fair election. He turned the tragedy of family death into an opportunity to educate his country about HIV/AIDS. He rallied on behalf of the hungry. He lobbied for equal education. He called for the world to come together and free those trapped in the prison of poverty. He challenged our generation to lead with action, not just words.
He's shown the world what a difference just one troublemaker can make.
Nelson Mandela has devoted his life to serving his community, fighting for his country and speaking out on behalf of the poor. Let's wish him happy birthday and show him our thanks.
Add your photo to the card by clicking on the link below:
http://www.one.org/international/actnow/mandela/?id=1777-2538601-Q6P_5ax&t=5
As Nelson Mandela said on the eve of his presidential election, "I stand before you humbled by your courage, with a heart full of love." Now it's our turn to stand before him and do the same.
[From ONE.org]
(when he was one ...)
The process of the unification of Italy is known as the Italian Risorgimento. Back in 19th century there were 4 states in Italy, namely the Austrians’ rule in Venice, the Papal States, the new expanded Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Naples and Sicily). After Napoleon lost his Empire and his Italian kingdom, Europe was entirely reshaped by the Vienna Congress and Italy started to gain a sense of unity and began to feel the need to become a unified nation. The driving force for this was the economical and philosophical needs of politicians, but slowly even the masses began to see the peninsula as one under the rule of the Savoias.
In April 1860, separate insurrections began in Messina and Palermo in Sicily, both of which had been opposing the Spanish rule. On 6th May 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi - an Italian patriot and soldier - and his ‘army’ of about a thousand Italian “red shirts” volunteers (called I Mille), left from Quarto near Genoa and landed near Marsala, Sicily, with the aim of “freeing” southern Italy and Sicily from the centuries old rule of the Bourbon Kings from Spain. Garibaldi’s Mille attracted scattered bands of rebels, and the combined forces defeated the enemy at Calatafimi on 13th May. Within three days, the invading force had swelled to 4,000 men. The next day, Garibaldi proclaimed himself governor of Sicily in the name of Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy (previously King of Savoy).
(Vic and her best friend Sarah)
