CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela was responding better to treatment in hospital on Wednesday morning after a "difficult last few days", South Africa's President Jacob Zuma said.
Mandela, South Africa's first black president, was rushed to a Pretoria hospital on Saturday in a "serious but stable" condition suffering from a recurring lung infection. He was spending a fifth day under the care of its doctors.
"We are very happy with the progress that he is now making," Zuma said in a speech to parliament.
"We urge South Africans and the international community to continue to keep President Mandela and the medical team in their thoughts and prayers," he told parliamentarians who burst into applause.
Mandela's condition has reinforced a creeping realisation among South Africa's 53 million people that they will one day have to say goodbye to the father of the "Rainbow Nation" that he tried to forge from the ashes of apartheid.
The 94-year-old has received visits from family members including his wife Graca Machel and former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
His family issued a statement saying they were happy with the care he was receiving and hopeful he would recover.
"We are particularly honoured to have received the many prayers and messages from South Africans at large as well as the global community," grandson Mandla said outside the family home in Johannesburg.
It was 49 years to the day since Mandela was sentenced for sabotage and conspiring to overthrow the white-minority government.
Mandela has a history of lung problems dating back to his time on the wind-swept Robben Island prison camp near Cape Town.
He was released in 1990 and went on to
​aaaaaameeen!!nitakuwa mtu mwenye furaha kubwa sana kuona Mandela anafikisha miaka 100.. Nampenda sana Mandela, namuwaza sana mandela ...Mungu mpe Mandela Miaka 1ooo...
[/QUOTE]Siyabonga tata wami, siyabonga kakhulu . Ngiyakutandza Mandela. iNingizimu Afrika ikuThandazile....Amen.[QUOTE=kiwatengu;6544200]Names of tata...
![]()
Mr Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is sometimes called by other names.
Each name has its own special meaning and story. When you use them you should know what you are saying and why. So here is a brief explanation of each name.
Rolihlahla – This is Mr Mandela's birth name: it is an isiXhosa name which means "pulling the branch of a tree", but colloquially it means "troublemaker". His father gave him this name.
Nelson – This name was given to him on his first day at school by his teacher, Miss Mdingane. Giving African children English names was a custom among Africans in those days and was influenced by British colonials who could not easily, and often would not, pronounce African names. It is unclear why Miss Mdingane chose the name "Nelson" for Mr Mandela.
Madiba – This is the name of the clan of which Mr Mandela is a member. A clan name is much more important than a surname as it refers to the ancestor from which a person is descended. Madiba was the name of a Thembu chief who ruled in the Transkei in the 18th century. It is considered very polite to use someone's clan name.
Tata – This is Xhosa word means "father" and is a term of endearment that many South Africans use for Mr Mandela. Since he is a father figure to many, they call him Tata regardless of their own age.
Khulu – Mr Mandela is often called "Khulu", which means great, paramount, grand. The speaker means "Great One" when referring to Mr Mandela in this way. It is also a shortened form of the isiXhosa word "uBawomkhulu" for "grandfather".
Dalibhunga – This is the name Mr Mandela was given at the age of 16 once he had undergone initiation, the traditional Xhosa rite of passage into manhood. It means "creator or founder of the council" or "convenor of the dialogue". The correct use of this name when greeting Mr Mandela is "Aaah! Dalibhunga".
Other names – Of course, Mr Mandela's family use many terms of endearment for him. His grandchildren use variants of "Grandfather", like "Granddad" for instance. Mrs Graça Machel frequently uses "Papa".
copy to Thanda