Garden of freedom

My favourite place

Nelson Mandela was in prision in South Africa for twenty - seven years. During that time, and after he was freed, he became a massive influence in Africa, and all over the world. His influence was not only political.

When he was in prision, he started a garden which was his favourite place because, as he said, it was, 'a small taste of fredom' for him. Mandela´s love for his garden has inspired a lot of people.
Mandela noticed the roof of the prision was flat and empty. It wasn't beautiful, but it was peaceful and more importantly, it got sunshine all day. He realised that he didn't need much equipment or much money to start a small garden. He just needed a few things and a bit of help to get started. After years of asking, the prision guards finally gave him sixteen large oil drums and they cut them in half for him. He filled them with some soil and created thirty-two giant flowerpots.
The garden was a relaxing place to go. It gave Mandela something to do and it produced a little food. But the most importantthing was that it gave him some control and freedom in his life. He spent a lot of time there - as often as he could. He loved the satisfaction of planting a seed and watching it grow into a tree or plant full of vegetables. It was a lot of work but it made him feel better about himself. At first, there weren't any other prisioners who were interesed, but after a while some people joined Mandela in his garden.
The charity Seeds for Africa was inspired by the fact that Mandela's prision garden made him and other prisioners feel good. The first prision vegetable garden the charity started was at Kabwe Prision in Zambia. There are 500 prisioners at Kabwe Prision and the prision garden gives them fresh vegetables to eat. And, just as it was for Mandela, the garden is their favourite place. It gives the prisioners somewhere pleasant to go - somewhere which gives them a little happines and taste of freedom.