South Africa has been preparing for Mr Mandela's birthday for weeks
Nelson
Mandela is set to spend his 95th birthday in hospital in Pretoria, as
events take place around the world and in South Africa in his honour.
South Africans are being urged to match the former president
and anti-apartheid leader's 67 years of public service with 67 minutes
of charitable acts.
Mr Mandela, who is in critical but stable condition with a recurring lung infection, entered hospital on 8 June.
His
daughter Zindzi said on Wednesday that he had made "dramatic progress".
"I should think he will be going home anytime soon,'' she told UK Sky
TV. Mr Mandela's birthday is also Nelson Mandela International
Day, a day declared by the UN as a way to recognise the Nobel Prize
winner's contribution to reconciliation. The former statesman is revered
across the world for his role
in ending apartheid in South Africa. He went on to become the first
black president in the country's first all-race elections in 1994.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) said that on this
Mandela Day homage was being paid to 95 years of "life well-lived",
dedicated to the liberation of South Africans and people all over the
world.
Poster project
The
day kicks off with millions of school children across South Africa
singing Happy Birthday to Mr Mandela. To mark the former statesman's 67
years as a lawyer,
activist, prisoner and president, volunteers will spend 67 minutes
renovating schools and orphanages, cleaning hospitals and distributing
food to the poor. "Let us return Madiba's sacrifices and contributions
through
our own efforts to build a better society," said South African President
Jacob Zuma, referring to Mandela's clan name.
President
Zuma plans to mark the occasion by overseeing the donation of houses to
poor white families in the Pretoria area. A poster project offering a
global vision of Mandela, with
700 submissions from around the world, will be unveiled on Wednesday and
auctioned off for charity.
"He carries across this concept of humanity and selflessness,'' said Mohammed Jogie, co-founder of the project.
Well-wishers have been gathering outside Mr Mandela's hospital leaving messages of support
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