End of a Wonderful Journey

With my Nelson Mandela Internship iTea presentation just a few days away, I felt it necessary to make one final blog post.

I want to again thank the following organizations/individuals for making this internship possible:
-Manulife Financial
-The Nelson Mandela Foundation (especially Verne Harris and Boniswa Nyati)
-The Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto (especially Dr. Wendy Duff, Adriana Rossini, and Kathleen O'Brien)

I had an incredible summer, full of invaluable work and cultural experiences.

Work-wise, I helped to organize and number Nelson Mandela's autographed books collection and to organize and sort the Resource Centre's book collection. The latter comprise the foundations of a future circulating library of materials about Mr. Mandela. My main task, however, was to create an internal database of Mr. Mandela's many awards for Foundation use. My physical and intellectual item level descriptions will allow one to quickly locate an award. I described approximately 400 awards. This is my desk, half way through the process:


Lastly, I leave you with a few pictures from July.

Mandela Day Volunteering at the Ebenezer Hannah House (Johannesburg):
I volunteered in the kitchen, peeling and chopping carrots, cabbage, and potatoes for the residents (both children and the elderly) for lunch.


Mandela Day Volunteering at the Itumeleng Children's Shelter (Sunnyside, Pretoria):
Foundation staff visited the shelter's 18 residents (all wonderful boys!) bringing cake and books to celebrate Nelson Mandela's birthday.


I met Nelson Mandela on his birthday. Words cannot describe the experience. I was so very privileged to be able to sing him "Happy Birthday." This was the best day of my life.


I was fortunate enough to be able to visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years of his prison sentence. I saw his cell while touring the prison.


Despite Robben Island's awful past, the island itself is beautiful, as is the view of Table Mountain.


I want to thank everyone for reading, and for following me on my incredible journey this summer. If you are a first year student at the iSchool, I strongly encourage you to apply for next summer. It will be the most incredible 3 months of your life.

-Lindsay