Today, July 18th 2018 would have been the 100th birthday of Africa’s anti-apartheid hero, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.

In life and in death, lots of words have been said and written about Mandela as one of the greatest Africans and human beings who ever walked the face of the earth. His life embraced the resilience of the human spirit, the will to forge ahead regardless of the obstacles and drudgery of life and the divinity forgiveness.

The story of Nelson Mandela is a story of courage, tenacity, and transformational leadership. What more can be said and written about this global icon? Indeed July 18th presents an opportunity to reflect on the life of Nelson Mandela, celebrate him as a man and live his legacy.

For this year’s centenary celebration of Nelson Mandela, a focus on education perhaps his greatest legacy will not be out of place. Nelson Mandela, throughout his life, recognized the importance of education and the power that education holds in not only changing the lives of people, but also societies and the world.

Education has long been recognized as a route out of poverty for individuals, and as a way of promoting equality of opportunity. Nelson Mandela, therefore, saw equality of opportunity through education as key to emancipation and lived his life advocating for people and societies to embrace education and harness its transformational power thereof.

Nelson Mandela’s position on education and the difference it can make in a person’s life is captured aptly when he said:

“The power of education extends beyond the development of skills we need for economic success. It can contribute to nation-building and reconciliation. Our previous system emphasized the physical and other differences of South Africans with devastating effects.

We are steadily but surely introducing education that enables our children to exploit their similarities and common goals, while appreciating the strength in their diversity.”

Even more profound was what Madiba said about the inherent ability of education to lift millions of people out of poverty and give the human person dignity. For Mandela, education is the great engine of personal development.

It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation.

This year, in expanding the reach of the Madiba legacy, especially that of education, Stanbic Bank Ghana will join the pupils of La Yahoushua Primary School to mark their speech and prize-giving day.


“Part of our purpose as a bank is to impact lives in our communities and supporting education is on that path. This year, we want to be part of the legacy of Nelson Mandela by activating what he stood for in our everyday lives.

For us at Stanbic Bank, we believe the greatest legacy we can bequeath to posterity, is quality education and because this is in consonance with the Madiba principles and ideals, we decided to use this day to expand his legacy”, said Sammy Teye, Head of Human Capital, Stanbic Bank.

Over the years, Stanbic Bank has made some interventions in education to improve access and quality. In 2013, the Bank donated a GHS 25,000 worth of a set of furniture to the Baba Yara Primary School in Accra, which was to furnish a three-unit classroom block named after Nelson Mandela.

In 2017, the Bank made a donation of stationery and mosquito nets to the pupils of the La Yahoushua Primary School in Accra in commemoration of Nelson Mandela Day and also pledged to provide periodic assistance to the school. A similar donation was made to a primary school in Agormeda in the Ga-Adangbe District.

Stanbic Bank has instituted such educational interventions amidst a day’s volunteering and mentoring sessions by staff members on how to help pupils to focus on their studies.