By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa

South Africans on Saturday honored Nelson Mandela’s struggle for freedom by volunteering 67 minutes of their time to help others.

To mark the late president’s birthday, South Africans gave up a minute for every year from 1942 to 1999 when Mandela was involved in the struggle against apartheid and later steered the country during its early post-apartheid years.

“I volunteered at an orphanage near my home,” Johannesburg resident Precious Kgomitso told Anadolu Agency. “I baked cakes and distributed them to the orphans.”

She said she was happy to have volunteered in memory of the country’s anti-apartheid hero.

Mohammed Noordein, 27, of Johannesburg, said helped clean his neighborhood’s streets. “To me, the name Mandela signifies unity and forgiveness,” he added.

Mandela’s birthday was officially endorsed in 2009 by the UN as International Nelson Mandela Day and is commemorated across the world.

Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and foreign diplomats used their 67 minutes to clean, cook and deliver food parcels at a community center and orphanage in Pretoria while President Jacob Zuma urged South Africans to dedicate themselves to building a united and caring society in honor of Mandela, known across the country by his tribal name Madiba.

“Madiba, the founding father of our democracy, dedicated 67 years of his life to the struggle to create a better South Africa,” Zuma said.

Calling on his compatriots to follow Mandela’s vision of ending poverty, inequality and unemployment, Zuma added: “In his memory, let us rededicate ourselves to unity, love, forgiveness, reconciliation, respect for one another and tolerance.”

The president also pleaded for the country to tackle community problems such as drug abuse.

Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years by the former apartheid government and was freed from Robben Island jail in 1990 before being elected the country’s first black president four years later. He retired after serving five years in office.

His message of reconciliation and forgiveness touched millions across the globe before his death in December 2013 at the age of 95.