Mandela Day Activities

For Mandela month I gave back to my community by spending time with the kids and we did arts and crafts and the kids also learn from those activities. Then I also connected myself with an organization called Oasis reach for your dreams and we went into the community of Parkwood where they started home gardens where people can benefit from by cooking healthy meals for them.

The reason I choose to do the arts and crafts with the kids it can help children develop many important life skills including:

• Creativity and imagination
• Self-expression
• Confidence and independence
• Fine motor skills
• Problem solving
• Hand-eye Coordination
• Social skills
• Critical Thinking

Many kids struggle to feel like they’re good at something. The completion of an art project (whether on actual recognizable product is created or not) gives a child the sense of accomplishment and of “a job well done.”some kids struggle to shine academically or in athletically, but will shine bright artistically.

So they made some flowers named blooming with kindness and had to write in each petal what you can do to be kind to other’s.

How this aligns with the spirit of Mandela Day Mandela quote:

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”

Mandela Day is about taking action to inspire change. I personally did the arts and crafts with the kids and they were all involved in the activity.

This activity took place at my home on the 18th of July Mandela Day

Each child draw on a page and made a flower and on the inside blooming with kindness and on each petal, they wrote what it means to be kind and they also used glue and some soap mix and red lentils and glitter to make the flower look beautiful.

The impact that this activity has on the kids is amazing because they have so much self-discipline, listening skills and unity when they work together.

For me, this time I spent with these kids brings tremendous joy to my heart to see how happy these kids are when they are here it also creates a save space for them to feel free.

The lesson I learned with the kids was that all you need to give them is love, kindness and patience. It’s amazing to see every week how these kids grow into such confident and loving kids to have around.

About Oasis reach for your dreams

This is an organization that delivers various programs to the youth at risk and homeless people from previously marginalized and disadvantaged communities, their mission is to rebuild lives through hope, compassion and dedication to excellence.

Mandela Day served as a powerful reminder of the profound impact of giving back and cultivating human connections. What we did was we went around to the community of Parkwood where they started home gardens where people can use the vegetables in their own households and benefit of nutritious and health veggies.
So, we cleaned some gardens and also planted different veggies and seedlings.

The volunteers involved was ladies of the community (community connectors) and also guys from oasis including myself and this happened on the 17th of July 2024

The impact that this awesome initiative bring to this people is they can freely just go to their garden when they need veggies without worrying about if they are able to afford to buy some veggies. I could see the gratitude, happiness and excitement it brought to this residence.

The lesson I learned through this is that the act if nurturing a living thing and watching it grow can also be tremendous source of fulfillment. Additionally, focusing your attention on the immediate tasks and details of gardening can reduce negative thoughts and feelings and can make you feel better in the moment. Just spending time around plants eases stress for many people, boosts self-esteem.