Call to service for Mandela's 93rd birthday

JOHANNESBURG: Nelson Mandela turns 93 on Monday, a day once marked by international concerts and celebrations, but now a day when the South African anti-apartheid icon urges the world to perform acts of charity.

For the third year, at the request of his charitable foundation, July 18 will be observed as Mandela Day, recognised by the United Nations as a global call to volunteer for good causes for 67 minutes -- representing each year of Mandela's life in active politics.

"It is hard to sum up Mandela's achievements and contribution to the country's struggle for freedom," said Shadrack Gutto, of the Centre for African Renaissance Studies at the University of South Africa.

"A leader of Mandela's calibre serves as a symbol of humility and selflessness," said Gutto.

Mandela himself will spend the day at his Johannesburg home with family, the way he spends most of his days since a health scare in January when he was hospitalised for an acute respiratory infection.

He was last seen in public just before his last birthday, when he and his third wife Graca Machel made an appearance at the football World Cup final.

It's a far cry from the fanfare that once greeted his birthday.

For his 90th, Mandela jetted off to London for a charity concert with the likes of Will Smith and Annie Lennox to raise money for his AIDS charity; hosted a speech in Johannesburg by Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf; and threw a party for hundreds of children at his home.

This year, 93 children from around the country are invited to his foundation on Monday, but they aren't expected to meet the man most South Africans know as Madiba, his clan name used with affection.

All the nation's 12.4 million school children will erupt in song in a special "Happy Birthday" rendition with an African twist, penned by a local composer. (AFP)