Casual Day ambassadors come on board for Mandela Day

The group has come on board just in time for Mandela Day and they will be celebrating Madiba's legacy by inspiring their communities to participate in Casual Day 2015, which takes place on Friday, 4 September.

"We are privileged to be working with some very passionate young people who have not let their disability get in the way of them making a contribution to society. Casual Day plays a significant part in realising the dream of equality and justice for all and our ambassadors are excellent examples of how we can all emulate Madiba to be change-makers in our world," Casual Day project leader Vanessa du Plessis says.

"Their role is one of self-advocacy and inspiration in spreading the Casual Day message to a wider audience. They will be leading by example and demonstrating how giving a little of to make a difference to the life of someone else, you can start changing the world around you."

World of disability

Casual Day changes lives one R10 sticker at a time. The ambassadors are there to give society a deeper understanding of the world of disability and how to make the world a more respectful and nurturing place for everybody.

Some of the new ambassadors that will be celebrating Mandela Day on 18 July this year include:

• Junior Mavuso, who lost his left leg below the knee in a car accident when he was three years of age. He received a prosthesis from Jumping Kids in 2010 and has since gone one to set a new SA record of 4.74 m in the F44 long jump for gold at the 2014 Nedbank National Championships.
  
• Paralympic swimmer Adri Visser was born in 1988 without hands and missing a lower leg, as a result of German measles during her mother's pregnancy. Two of her career highlights include competing in the Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008 and the 6th IPC World Swimming Championships in Canada 2013.
  
• Lefa Manamela, Miss Deaf SA 2013, represented South Africa at the Miss Deaf World Pageant in July 2014 and was nominated first princess at the Miss Deaf Africa 2015 pageant.
  
• Nenio Mbazima Roodekop in Ekurhuleni won a Gifted Stars Literature Award from the Department of Women, Children and People with Disability (DWCPD) for his autobiography, Strong Winds, in which he tells of his struggle for access to education and employment as a deaf person.
  
• Kutloano Olga Mokoena has albinism and has made it her life's work to fight for the rights of persons with disabilities in the Vaal area.

"These ambassadors, who were chosen because they demonstrate an active commitment to the promotion of disability awareness, exemplify good citizenship and are capable of acting as influential advocates for disability, have been welcomed in time to take part in our Mandela Day activations," concludes Du Plessis.