Mandela Day is celebrated on 18 July each year to honour the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela and to encourage acts of service and community upliftment. This year, the Anna Foundation is marking the day with something special.
The learners from our 22 rural after-schools created artworks of Nelson Mandela as part of our Life Skills component of our 3R’s Programme (Reading, Running and Right-ing). We were blown away by their creativity and they used everything from fabric and leaves to pasta and coins. Their entries formed part of our newly launched Art4Charity initiative, where we sell their incredible creations to support the Anna Foundation’s work in rural areas.
“This year, we decided to showcase the incredible talent of our rural learners through Art4Charity, and in the process sell these artworks to raise funds that directly support the after-schools. Every artwork sold means financial support for our programmes, enabling us to reach even more rural communities in the Western Cape,” says Anna Brom, Director of the Anna Foundation.
Winners of the 2025 Mandela Day Art Competition
🏆 FIRST PLACE: GRAHAM BECK AFTER-SCHOOL (FACILITATOR: MARIA SNYDERS)
Their piece featured oats, lentils, rice, noodles, and even salt and pepper to symbolise how Mandela helped sustain and unite the nation.
🥈 SECOND PLACE: HAZENDAL AFTERSCHOOL (FACILITATOR: SARA CLAASEN)
Hazendal’s artwork is decorated with a variety of African flags and has lots of small and meaningful details. Some of the unique details of this piece include Mandela’s Prison Number and date of birth, as well as some photos from his younger days.
🥉 THIRD PLACE: LEIPZIG AFTERSCHOOL (FACILITATOR: SHELAHN JANSEN AND ETHAN SIMPSON)
Leipzig’s piece was an explosion of colour and creativity. They decorated Mandela’s shirt with a variety of colourful foil and sketched patterns. They also added an inspiring quote from Nelson Mandela which states: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Other Awards
The learners created such amazing artworks that we decided to give special awards to other projects.
UNIQUE CONCEPT AWARD: MERWIDA AFTER-SCHOOL
Merwida after-school received this award for their unique artwork. They sketched Mandela on fabric with a marker and used paint, glitter and their handprints to decorate it.
EXCEPTIONAL CREATIVITY: NEETHLINGSHOF AFTER-SCHOOL
Neethlingshof after-school received this award for their creative use of colour, space and recycled materials.
ENGINEERING INGENUITY: GROOT CONSTANTIA AFTER-SCHOOL
Groot Constantia after-school received the Engineering Ingenuity award for not only creating a beautiful artwork, but building an easel to exhibit the artwork. They als added a beautiful border in the colours of the South African flag.
Why support Art4Charity?
Each piece is a tribute not only to Mandela, but also to the talent and imagination of rural learners. All artworks are on sale at www.art4charity.net, and every purchase supports our mission of supporting rural learners through education, sport and life skills.