Thando and Freddy’s Big SDG Adventure: A Journey with Tata Madiba, was launched in honour of Nelson Mandela
Thando and Freddy’s Big SDG Adventure book connects Mandela’s values to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
In commemoration of Mandela Day on July 18, the United Nations in South Africa, in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and the Graça Machel Trust, launched_Thando and Freddy’s Big SDG Adventure: A Journey with Tata Madiba at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Saxonwold.
Among the attendees were UN resident coordinator in SA Nelson Muffuh, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund Dr Linda Ncube-Nkomo, CEO of Graça Machel Trust Shipra Chisha, and Nelson Mandela Foundation trustee Alice Brown.
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The book connects Mandela’s values to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are 17 goals that countries around the globe created to make life better for everyone by protecting our planet, improving health and education, reducing poverty, promoting peace and making sure no one is left behind.
Speaking at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Steve Letsike, deputy minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, reflected on the book.
“Sipho comes to school without shoes and later sits alone because he has no lunch. His teacher responds with kindness and makes sure that he is not excluded or humiliated, which is ubuntu and what we should be expressing.”
United Nations Children’s Fund representative in SA, Johannes Wedenig, said the book would help include children in SDG conversations.
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“We talk a lot as adults and decision makers, but children must get the necessary education around SDGs in a way they can understand and relate to; otherwise, child participation will not be meaningful if children don’t participate.”
Attendee Tshedza Madima added that as a young person, it was important to attend such an event because it was a day when the youth could take charge and learn the lessons they could take forward in the future.
The soft copy of the book is available on the UN SA website https://southafrica.un.org/en/318050-thando-and-freddys-big-adventure-nelson%C2%A0mandela
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