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Nelson Mandela was born July 18th, 1918 in Mvezo South Africa, His father was a tribal chief and many of his people called him by his clan’s name Madiba meaning the reconciler (CTV news, 2013). He attended missionary elementary school, high school, and College. He went further to study law at the University of the Witwatersrand.  He was a multi-sport athlete.

He was a founding member of the Youth League inside the party called ANC (African National Congress). ANC happens to be the main black political party in South Africa.

He was a freedom fighter, who believed in equality and freedom for all. Fought hard with his voice to end white supremacy in South Africa, and he got arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment (Schoemaker, 2013).

He gained his freedom after twenty-seven years on the 11th of February, 1990. He became the first democratically elected president in South Africa and the first black president in the history of South Africa from 1994-1999.
He won several awards during his life, including Nobel Peace Price in 1993 (SAHO, 2022).
Died at the age of 95years on the 9th of December 2013.

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He attended missionary schools founded by the Europeans and thought in school that the Europeans were unselfish benefactors. But this does not stop him from fighting for what he believed in. He was able to recognize what oppression was right from an early age (Cataliotti, J. 2022).
I am able to make a connection with this, I went to a Methodist elementary school and I remembered we were taught how wonderful the European missionaries were by building schools without talking much about the slavery aspect.

He was arrested several times and later convicted of treason and sentenced to life in prison but he never compromised. In 1985, president Botha offered him conditional freedom if he renounced violence but he declined.  He spent 27 years of his productive years in prison, confined to a hard life.  Even in the prison, he inspired many prisoners and taught them the importance of conflict-free retaliation (Schoemaker, 2013).

While in prison he was made to work seven hours a day for 12 years in Robben Island prison until forced labor was abolished on the island. The treatment was enough for him to give up on the fight but he never did.

He prevented civil war from happening due to his perseverance and enduring humility.
Some people would have backed out or even join the oppressors to torment his people but he never did.

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He fought against (apartheid) white supremacy in South Africa. The non-white people in South Africa were not given the same opportunities as white people. It got really bad that the white folks were living in a different community from non-white folks.

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There must be equality and freedom for all.
A lot of things fell into place after the eradication of apartheid for example the country was able to conduct a free and fair election which happened as a result of freedom.
Black people in South Africa were never given an opportunity to participate in rugby during the apartheid era but in 1995 Nelson Mandela was able to unite the country by hosting the rugby world cup in South Africa.

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Macro level

Nelson Mandela and his ANC (African National Congress) political party members used nonviolent approaches like strikes and demonstrations to let the government know they are against Apartheid. Though they did not get the kind of result they wanted from the government in the beginning but the movement was felt by the people in the government which led to his arrest.
Mezzo level
Nelson Mandela's anti-apartheid movement gained international support and there was a sanction against it which lead to the end of the apartheid movement in South Africa. So it took both the effort of local and international intervention (SAHO, 2019).

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Nelson Mandela's leadership skills were excellent. He worked with his people and they were able to achieve their goals. As a social worker, I am able to recognize the importance of working in partnership from an anti-oppressive side.
He did not compromise nor give up when the journey was tough. He was focused on his struggle. It is important to always examine ourselves and be sure we are doing the right thing and most especially it is for the interest of the client as a social worker