The purpose of the event on Thursday, 4 September 2008 in Thokoza Park, Soweto, was to celebrate Mr Mandela's 90th birthday as part of National Arbor Month as well as his Legacy in Soweto. Present at this special event was the guest of honour himself Mr Nelson Mandela and his wife Mrs Graca Machel, among others.
The aim of the Greening Soweto project is to plant 200 000 trees by 2010 in readiness for the soccer world cup tournament. During his address the acting Mayor of the City of Johannesburg Mr Parks Tau said it is the city’s wish to build similar parks like Thokoza Park throughout Soweto. Norway has committed NOK 3 mill. to this project. The goal of this project is to contribute to social upliftment through beautification, tourism and management of an environmentally degragated area.
In his rare public appearance Mr Mandela also gave a short speech in which he acknowledged Greening Soweto as a good project and that he hoped similar projects /initiatives will also be implemented in other parts of the country. Mr Mandela then continued to unveil a plaque in his honour. The inscription on the plaque is an extract from Mr Mandela's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance address of 10 December 1993 in Oslo Norway which reads ' At the southern tip of the continent of Africa, a rich reward is in the making, an invaluable gift is in the preparation, for those who suffered in the name of all humanity when they sacrified everything - for liberty, peace, human dignity and human fulfillment. This reward will not be measured in money. Nor can it be reckoned in the collective price of the rare metals and precious stones that rest in the bowels of the African soil we tread in the footsteps of our ancestors. It will and must be measured by the happiness and welfare of the children'. He then planted the 90990th tree of the 200 000 Greening Soweto Challenge.
Read here for more about Greening Soweto