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It has been a year since Nelson Mandela passed on. His departure, mourned by the world, still impacts us today, prompting us to live by his example with compassion, reconciliation and Ubuntu.

Born in a small village in Transkei, Nelson Mandela moved to Johannesburg as a young man. He called several places home over the years, from a backyard shack in Alexandra to an upmarket house in well-heeled Houghton. In his retirement, he divided his time between the city and his rural retreat in Qunu.

Thousands of children go to school without breakfast. They are lethargic and cannot concentrate. This makes teaching and learning impossible, trapping them in poverty. Alongside government feeding schemes, the private sector has initiatives to put food in every child's stomach.

As a place of immense natural and spiritual beauty, the Transkei is a showcase of the land that made Mandela. Photos: Ukubona Africa Sangoma Khulela...

Four years ago, the head of Siemens made a commitment to Nelson Mandela – to build a school in the quiet rural village of his birth. That school, a state-of-the-art science and technology secondary institution, has now opened to great fanfare.

Nelson Mandela has devoted a great deal of his time and resources since his release from prison to improving the lives of children around the world, but particularly in South Africa. He has given his own salary and prize money, and set up the Children's Fund to help the younger, more vulnerable members of society.
• The women in Madiba's life

Learners at the school Nelson Mandela first attended as a child have wished the former president a blessed 95th birthday, joining a worldwide chorus of wishes for South Africa's anti-apartheid icon.

Birthday wishes were pouring in for former president Nelson Mandela as he turned 95 on Thursday, with a tangible sense of celebration in the country as millions of pupils sang "Happy Birthday Madiba" and South Africans from all walks of life geared up to pay tribute to their national treasure.

Nelson Mandela was born and raised in rural Eastern Cape. It is here that he learned about politics at the knees of his tribal elders, and it is here that he retired from active politics as he aged.
• Mandela exhibition goes to Paris

Civil society group Lead SA pledged to make former statesman Nelson Mandela's 94th birthday one he will never forget. This they ensured by making sure South Africa, and the world, stand as one to wish Madiba all the best.