Mandela, A Great Hero

Nelson Mandela, a boy from an African village, grew up to become the first black president of South Africa.
Before he became president, Mandela led a long and difficult struggle against segregation in South Africa. Under segregation, black and white people were kept apart. Segregation denied blacks many basic rights. Mandela spent many years in prison for trying to end segregation in South Africa.
EARLY LIFE
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in 1918 in a small village in the Transkei region of South Africa. His father was a chief of the Thembu tribe. Mandela’s parents named him Rolihlahla, an African word that means troublemaker. Little did they know how fitting his name would be!
At the age of seven, Mandela became the first person in his family to go to school. At school, Mandela was given the name Nelson. He went on to attend college and earn a law degree in the city of Johannesburg.
FIGHTING SEGREGATION
When Mandela was a young man, South Africa was divided by segregation. Segregation in South Africa was called apartheid, a word that means apartness. Under apartheid, black people couldn’t vote or hold certain jobs. Whites controlled the government. Blacks and whites lived in separate areas and went to different schools.
Mandela opposed this cruel and unfair system. In 1944, Mandela joined a group called the African National Congress (ANC). The ANC opposed the rule of South Africa by whites alone. The ANC believed that South Africa belonged to everyone, whatever the color of their skin.
A NATURAL LEADER
Mandela was a natural leader and a gifted speaker. He became a leader in the ANC, and he encouraged people to break the apartheid laws. The government saw Mandela as a troublemaker. It tried to stop him.
The government made the ANC illegal. Mandela was arrested several times. When he was released, he continued to fight for an end to apartheid. In 1962, the government sentenced Mandela to five years in prison. Then, in 1964, he was accused of working to overthrow the government. The government increased Mandela’s sentence to life in prison.
MANDELA IN PRISON
The government sent Mandela to a prison on Robben Island, off the coast of South Africa. The prison conditions were harsh. Mandela was allowed only one visitor every six months. Every day he was forced to break rocks in the prison yard for many hours.
During this time, Mandela became the world’s most famous political prisoner. Leaders around the word demanded Mandela’s freedom. They wanted apartheid in South Africa to end.
In 1982, the government moved Mandela to a prison on the mainland. This was during a time of growing violence in South Africa. Many people protested in the streets against apartheid.
PEACEMAKER
The government began secret talks with Mandela. They believed that if anyone could stop the trouble, Mandela could. He was a popular leader who had won the support of many South Africans.
In 1990, Mandela was released after spending 27 years in prison. The government lifted the ban on the ANC. Mandela became its leader in 1992. Mandela soon began talks with the government aimed at ending apartheid.
Many white people worried about giving blacks equal rights. Mandela worked with South Africa’s president, F. W. de Klerk, to promote peaceful relations between blacks and whites. For their efforts, Mandela and de Klerk won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA
In 1994, South Africa held elections. For the first time in South Africa’s history, men and women of all races could vote. Mandela became the first black president of South Africa. He brought an end to the hated apartheid system.
After five years as president, Mandela retired from political office. He returned to live in the Transkei region, where he grew up.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007. © 1993-2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

consistency

When you consistently make better choice you create better habits. These habits produce better character.When you have better character, you add more value to the world. When you become more valuable, you attract bigger and better opportunities. This allows you to make more of contribution in your life.

ASK and RECIEVE

It's been around for a long, long time, this gift called asking.
In fact, one of life's fundamental truth states, ask and you shall receive. Isn't that simple? Of course it is. And kids are the masters. Their formula is ususallyto ask until they get what they want. As aldults, we seem to lose our ability to ask. We come up with all sorts of excuses and reasons to avoid any possibility of rejection. Kids haven't been programmed like that. They really believe they can have anything they ask for, whether it's a fifty-foot swimming pool or a chocolate ice cream cone.
Here is what you need to understand: The world responds to those who ask. If you are not moving closer to what you want, you probably aren't asking.
When you ask, you receive all sort of information, ideals, strategies, names of people with influence and, yes, even money.There are many good reasons to ask and the reward is substantial. So why do people stumble when they have an oppourtunity to ask? Essentially there are three reasons.

1. They have a belief system that says it's not right to ask.

2. They lack confidence

3. They fear rejection.

They are also five ways on how to ask and recieve.

1. Ask clearly
2. Ask with confidence.
3. Ask consistently.
4. Ask creatively.
5. Ask sincerely.

Don't forget the habit of asking has changed the world. There are many examples of great leaders who knew the how to ask well. And they did it with commitment and passion. Jesus asked his diciples to follow him.They did, and christainity was born.
Martin Luther King Jr. had adream of equalityfor all thepeople. He asked , and changed the course of history. Mother Teresa asked for help to assist the poor and dying and the Missionaries of charity was created. During World War II, Winston asked the people of United Kingdom to never, never, never, never, give up, and the Great Briton was saved from invasion.
It's important to note that each of this leaders had a powerful vison and total commitment to accomplishing their goal. For them asking was thenatural way to make continuous progress.

ARE YOU A SMOKER?

There are many reasons why you must quit somking now, The reasons are simple and easy to see.
If you want to live a longer life... that's one reason why you must be healthy and not prematutely die.

There are 3,800 chemicals found in a tobacco smoke, now you can see why smoking causes people to choke.

43 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer... So if you want to be healthy, smoking isn't the answer.

Somking isn't glamorous... Cigrette companies have lied ''i'm not poisoning my body with bezene arsenic, or cyanide.

If you don' t want nicotine to be your master, then stop smoking... If you don't want your heart to work harder or pump faster, then quite somking and if you don't want to risk dying of herat diseases, then throw away that stick of cigreete now.

Cigreete kills three million people a year. Do you want to be a statistic... I'll make that clear.

Do you know that second hand smoke causes many people to die? Do you want to kill your family, yourself and cause them to cry? Do you know you can cause babies to be stillborn with that stick of cigreete in your hand?

The truth is, if you don't quite cigreete now, it will definately quite you by taking your life. Compied by Olu-joshua.

Onion, Much More Than a Delicacy.

Onions are an asset to the world's health. They contain nutrients, such as calcium, phosphorous, and ascobic acid, known as vitamin C.In particular, though, onions have been historically appreciated for their medicininal properties. Even now they are used to fight a number of conditions, including colds, laryngtis artherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, diabetes and asthma. Also attributed to the onion are antiseptic, anticholesterol, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, and anticancer effects.
Onion comes in different colors-white, yellow, brown, green, red, and purple. You can have them fresh, cooked, canned, pickled, dehydrated, powdered, in flakes, or in cubes. Is not the onion a wonderful vegetable- even if does make you shed a few tears?