I remember Nelson Mandela

We hold Nelson Mandela in such high esteem because his humanity let him recognise the humanity in others. This collection of remembrances from those who worked with, for and beside Mandela is testament to this recognition. More than one hundred men and women from household staff to bodyguards and presidential advisors have offered their memories, which provide warm, poignant and often humorous insights into what it was like behind the scenes with one of the most revered and beloved political figures the world has seen. I Remember Nelson Mandela is the dream-child of Mrs Graça Machel who, some months after Nelson Mandela’s passing on 5 December 2013, met with former members of his staff to thank them for their service. Listening to their memories inspired the creation of this book. Sahm Venter is the senior researcher at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg where she has worked since 2006. She previously reported on the last years of the struggle against apartheid for South African and international media. As a correspondent for the international news agency, The Associated Press, she covered the release from prison of Nelson Mandela, his presidency as well as various news events on the African continent. She co-edited, with Claude Colart, Something to Write Home About: Reflections from the Heart of History (2004) and in 2005 the first in a series of books for school students called Our National Days. She co-edited, with Sello Hatang, Nelson Mandela by Himself: The Authorised Book of Quotations (2011). In 2013 she and Swati Dlamini-Mandela co-edited Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s book 491 Days: Prisoner Number 1323/69. In 2017 she and Ahmed Kathrada launched Conversations with a Gentle Soul, which they wrote together. Vimla Naidoo first job was as a protocol officer in the office of President Nelson Mandela where she helped to set up events, including receiving ceremonies for visiting heads of state, banquets with leaders such as presidents Fidel Castro and Bill Clinton, the accreditation of ambassadors, and the opening of Parliament. She worked with President Mandela’s Advisory Council for National Orders to design a new set of state honours. She remained in Protocol throughout President Mandela’s term of office and for the first half of President Mbeki’s term. In 2001 she moved to the Nelson Mandela Foundation as a personal assistant to Nelson Mandela and Graça Machel, to whom she provided personal support and logistics. She travelled with them in South Africa and internationally. She regards it as an “immense honour to have served under Madiba as president and in his retirement”. This is her first book.