Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was the anti-apartheid activist president of South Africa.
Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in Mvezo a small village on the banks of the Mbashe River in the eastern cape of South Africa.
Born into a chief dynasty Mandela ran away from home in his college years to Johannesburg to avoid an arranged marriage.

Nelson Mandela Biography

 He attended Fort Hare University and University of Witwatersrand studying law.

Although he was only president for 5 years Mandela played a huge role in the anti-apartheid activist movement.
In August 1953 Mandela and Oliver Tambo opened the only African law firm operating in downtown Johannesburg.  This was the only law firm available to Africans at that time.

One of Mandela's main goals was to keep peace, he didn't want to start violence  Although during a protest in Sharpeville in 1960, 69 people were killed near a police station.
The protest was initially peaceful and non violent, the Africans were stating that they wouldn't carry their pass books. They didn't want to be set apart from white people, they wanted to be equal.

Mandela often traveled around the world to raise awareness about the segregation and persecution of the Africans  He also made many speeches publicly against the apartheid movement. . After illegally leaving the country several times and according to government "initiating strikes" he was arrested.
He said while in prison,
"In a way I had never quite comprehended before, I realized the role I could play in court and the possibilities before me as a defendant. I was the symbol of justice in the court of the oppressor, the representative of the great ideals of freedom, fairness and democracy in a society that dishonored those virtues. I realized then and there that I could carry on the fight even in the fortress of the enemy." - Nelson Mandela 1994

He was First imprisoned in Johannesburg's Marshall square prison in August 1962.

Imprisoned on Robben Island from 1962-1982 Mandela lived in a 8ft by 7ft concrete cell with a straw mat to sleep on. He was often harassed and was forbidden to wear sunglasses as he worked outside breaking limestone. (vision ruined) He remained in this prison for the next 18 years while working on his LLB degree (law) while being locked in solitary confinement. He was allowed to have one visitor and one letter every 6 months.

In April 1982 Mandela was transferred to Pollsmoor prison in Tokai Cape Town South Africa. Then in December 1988 he was transferred to Victor Verster Prision Near Paaral. When he moved, Mandela was recovering from tuberculosis because of the dark dank conditions of his cell. Mandela was released by the request of the south Africans in February 1990. He was certainty not forgotten during his 27 years of imprisonment.

In May 1994 Mandela won the presidential election as well as the respect of South Africa.
In 1995 Mandela encouraged all South Africans to support the hated rugby team, "the sprinkboks" as they played in the 1995 Ruby World Cup. After the Sprinboks won the game against New Zeland, Mandela himself presented the trophy to Francois Pienaar an Afrikaner. To both white and blacks this was seen world wide as a major step towards reconciliation between white and blacks. In March 1996 Mandela publicly announced that he was separating from his wife Winnie. This was his second marriage and it wasn't holding together well as a result of him being imprisoned. In 1998 Mandela married Graca Machel.
 He served as president for one term as the first black president of South Africa. He retired from active politics in 1999.

Over all I think that Mandela was a very influential and important president in South Africa and because of Mandela South Africa was changed. My favorite quote by him I will use in closing.

The poorest country on earth

Bangladesh is the poorest country in the world. The estimated population of Bangladesh is 161,083,804 as of July 2012. This small country's area is 55,598 square miles. and is the tenth most populous country in the world.  More then 49 percent of the people in Bangladesh live below the poverty line. In addition malnutrition is up 48 percent among children. In America more then 16% live below the poverty line.

Bangladesh faces many challenges such as poverty, corruption, overpopulation and the constant climate change makes it a difficult place to live. According to an article I read by "the telegraph" Dhaka Bangladesh is the worst city in the world to live.
It is also to be said as the most underdeveloped country with over 75 million people.

Dhaka in the capital city of Bangladesh and most people have migrated to Dkaha from more rural areas, therefore increasing the population density. This stresses important resources such as food, water, health care, sanitation and education. Many Bangladeshi's can't afford to live in houses very long so they're forced to live in bustees.
 A bustee is a name for a shanty town or slum in India or Bangladesh. These slums are on the outskirts of Dhaka and they lack basic needs such as, electricity, sewage disposal, and supply of clean water.
Without these needs there is a high risk of  disease leading to higher death rates.

With so many people migrating to the city from rural areas this results in more traffic. More traffic results in congestion problems and exhaust fumes causes air pollution. With over population and an under developed economy the government cannot afford to improve transportation.

Due to the country's geographical location, flooding occurs often. It is a big tragedy when it does flood,  shacks are often washed away. In order to rebuild shacks they have to borrow money from moneylenders, thus putting them further into debt. Natural disasters also cause outbreaks of diseases like, cholera, diarrhea and malaria. This effects their physical health which lowers their ability to be productive and thrive under such difficult conditions.

When thinking about Bangladesh its easy to focus too much on the sickness, un-employment and illiteracy of this country and feel like there's no hope. Several articles I've read have said that the only way to help this country is to, provide access to birth control and abortifacients. Of course many articles have suggested that the solution to every third world country is to reduce the birth rate.  I think one of the best solutions would be to raise the literacy rate thus educating more women and raising their statuses. I'm not saying that education is the only way to solve Bangladesh's problems, I'm saying that if you educate everybody you'll make a difference.

I have learned so much about Bangladesh and I'd like to go and serve there someday.