Nelson Mandela celebrates 94th birthday

Revolutionary leader Nelson Mandela, who served as president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 and was the first ever to be democratically elected, celebrated his 94th birthday on Wednesday. Mandela has asked the public to perform charity work as his birthday gift.


Chief Mandla Mandela, the family's head, led a delegation that planted trees at schools and donated wheelchairs to the village's only clinic in the impoverished Eastern Cape region.

"I am humbled by the work that has been done here with the people and different organisations in changing the lives of the people during my grandfather's birthday," he said.

Nelson Mandela has asked the public to perform 67 minutes of charity work as his birthday gift, each minute representing a year he spent in active politics.