BuaNews (Tshwane)
Proffesor Ndawonde
24 September 2008
An outstanding ordinary man from Whiteriver in Mpumalanga has celebrated Heritage Day by being told by the National Heritage Council that he was a recipient of the prestigious Ubuntu Award.
Fifty-seven year old Patrick Thibedi was honoured with this award on Wednesday along with former Cuban President Fidel Castro who was awarded the International Ubuntu Honour.
The NHC said the current Ambassador of Cuba Enrigue Orta would accept the award on behalf of Mr Castro in an official ceremony held at Mapungubwe Wednesday evening.
The NHC said when calling Mr Thibedi to inform him about the pleasant news, the old man responded humbly and told the council that he was just an old man who loves helping other people.
The public was requested through SABC radio station to identify ordinary citizens who were living examples of Ubuntu in communities and send the information via SMS.
Mr Thibedi, or Chamusso as known to his neighbours, was among those short-listed from a larger group who were interviewed on line to assess what they were doing for their communities.
The NHC said the SMS that won him the award was sent by Johan Mogale in Siswati: "Endzaweni yangakitsi sina Mr Chamusso unakekela tintsandzane usita nabo gogo batfole impesheni unebuntfu" (In our area we have Mr Chamusso who looks after orphans and helps the elders to receive their pension grants, he has Ubuntu).
In a statement the NHC explained that the Ubuntu Award was honouring persons who have consistently lived the humanitarian values of the African philosophy of Ubuntu.
"The first and second awards of this campaign that revives values of humanity were received by Nelson Mandela and Kenneth Kaunda in 2006 and 2007 respectively. An independent Ubuntu Advisory Panel selects the recipient based on an extensive motivation" the NHC explains.
The National Heritage Council has been working on developing a campaign that will, from 2009, be integrated into schools and prisons as learning modules for learners and offenders.
"We are also pleading to the citizens of South Africa to join us in reviving the values of respect, love, forgiveness, honesty, compassion, humility and promoting unity".
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 BuaNews. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
