Love to Live 2012 was held at the Protea Sports centre from 18th to 20th May 2012. It was an amazing sight to see the apt attention paid by the youth being educated by their peers on crucial public health issues. Thirty five local schools enthusiastically embraced the event by participating in various talent contests, in which a strong message based on the theme “Nelson Mandela, My Hero” was sent out to the community.
The campaign recorded a good number of entries in all categories. The quality of the submissions continued to improve from year to year with schools competing for the winning sketch prize money, which was scooped by Khwezi Primary & Eastwood Secondary Schools. The overall spirit
of the Peace and Hope Walk was once again overwhelming. Some 4000 enthusiastic entrants of all ages participated in the event Sunday, 20th May, making this race one of the biggest fun runs in the city. Proceeds from the fun run have exceeded all expectations and reached an unbelievable
R440, 000. Schools were presented with up to 90% of funds raised at a special presentation on Friday, 15th June.
Sunday 20th May, was undoubtedly a memorable occasion for several reasons. The public gathered in huge numbers to celebrate the youth of our community and their many great talents. The event also celebrated the life of the greatest living legend of all time – prisoner for 27 years, peacemaker
in one of the most notorious struggles the world has ever seen, first president of a democratic South Africa and Nobel Laureate. All of which culminated in him being the only man ever to be afforded the accolade of having his birthday, July 18th, to be named after him, as ‘Mandela Day’ all over the world.
This great man may not have been there in person, but he was most definitely there in spirit. This was evident when Mandela magic made an appearance in the form of the honourable Premier, Dr Zweli Mkhize (Mandela of KZN), who graced the event with his presence. In celebration of Nelson
Mandela’s extraordinary life, 27 local nominees who made selfless and significant contributions to the development of our community received special awards to pay tribute to the 27 years spent in prison. These contributions have been made in various ways, be it in the cultural, religious, athletic or political arena. A few, besides contributing in other ways, have supported Love to Live unconditionally, for example, by walking the Love to Live race religiously since its inception 12 years ago – one of whom was Mr Vadivelu Pillay, 86 years old, who walked the race again! Rest assured that each and every one of the 27 nominees (as photographed) have made a great difference.
Nelson Mandela once said, “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite”.
This is in keeping with motto of Love to Live which is “Each and every one of us can Love to Live and Live to Love”.
