Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela is well-known in Africa for being the president of South Africa. On this website, it gives information about Mandela's presidency. Nelson Mandela became South Africa's president on May 10, 1994. During his presidency, he did the following things:

• In 1995, he created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
• This looked into discrimination and human rights
• Introduced new ideas to develop Africa's black population's living standards
• Housing, education, economic development designs

In 1999, Mandela's first term as president was over, and he did not run for a second term as Africa's president. Thabo Mbeki became president after Mandela. When Mandela left his presidency, he also resigned from active politics, but he still remained involved by promoting peace, compromise, and social justice. He often did so by working through the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which was founded in 1999. In 2007, he was also a founder of the Elders, which advocates for solving conflicts and problems around the world. 

Nelson Mandela receiving the Nobel Piece Prize

Nelson Mandela now has a day that was created to recognize all he had done. The day is called Mandela Day and is celebrated on Mandela's birthday, July 18, 1918. On this day, people around the world are encouraged to participate in community service.

Volunteers participating in Mandela Day

The Struggle for African Women

I found an interesting article on the struggle for African women. In the earlier years of African history, there had been a time of inequality, where blacks and colored people were "less than" whites, and women were inferior to men. Through this though, South African women played a huge role trying to fight for equal rights before any organization was even thought of. Women began to fight for what they believed in. Indian women encouraged Black and Indian miners to protest against starvation wages. In 1913 Black and Colored women fought against the requirement of carrying identity passes, while it was not necessary for White women to do so.

In 1918, the first women's organizatoin, Bantu Women's League, was started up by Charlotte Maxeke. It was constructed to refuse the pass laws. Throughout the 1930s and 40's, women continued to take part in campaigns, and by 1943, women were able to be apart of the African National Congress. In 1948, Ida Mntwana established the ANC Women's League, and she was the organization's first president.

Ida Mntwana, president of ANC Women's League

In 1952, there were many women who participated in the Defiance Campaign. Two years later, the Federation of South African Women was created. This brought women from the ANC, the South African Indian Congress, trade unions and self-help groups together for the very first time. A women's Charter was drawn up which promised to end abolish discriminatory laws. 

Women went through a lot during this time, trying to fight for the equality of men and women. Even through these hard times, women leaned on other women to keep them fighting for their equality. 

A Little About Africa...

In an article that I read, it gave a lot of interesting information about Africa as a continent. As the second largest continent, there are many different things that can contribute to Africa's warm temperature. Africa is divided pretty much into two parts. The region of Africa that encounters hot temperatures and a lot of rainfall throughout the year is located near the Equator. The dryer regions of Africa are located closer to the tropics.

Rain forest climate in Africa

Dry climate in Africa

The northern half of Africa tends to be dryer and hotter, while the southern half is more damp and chilly. This is because of the unsymmetrical shape of Africa's northern and southern regions. Since the southern half is narrower than the northern hemisphere, it is affected greater by oceanic factors. 

Farming is affected tremendously in Africa by the climatic factors. It is known to be the most important economic activity in Africa, and two-thirds of Africa's working population works in agriculture.