Few things make the life of a parent more rewarding and sweet as successful children.

No child in Africa, and in fact anywhere in the world, should be denied education.

There are many people who have worked just because they love the community in which they are in, without expecting any financial consideration.

A society that does not value its older people denies its roots and endangers its future. Let us strive to enhance their capacity to support themselves for as long as possible and, when they cannot do so anymore, to care for them.

Let us remind ourselves that it is ordinary people - men and women, boys and girls - that make the world a special place.

The victory of democracy in South Africa is the common achievement of all humanity.

There is nothing more important in life than giving. Tolerance is forged when people look beyond their own desires.

It is also the fate of leadership to be misunderstood. For historians, academics, writers and journalists to reflect great lives according to their own subjective canon.

There must be an end to white monopoly on political power, and a fundamental restructuring of our political and economic systems to ensure that the inequalities of apartheid are addressed and our society thoroughly democratized.

To a freedom fighter hope is what a lifebelt is to a swimmer - a guarantee that one will keep afloat and free from danger.

The time has come to accept in our hearts and minds that with freedom comes responsibility.

Since the dawn of history, mankind has honoured and respected brave and honest people.

In the end, reconciliation is a spiritual process, which requires more than just a legal framework. It has to happen in the hearts and minds of people.

The histories of our two peoples, Palestinian and South African, correspond in such painful and poignant ways, that I intensely feel myself being at home amongst compatriots.

We don't have to be victims of our past, that we can let go of our bitterness, and that all of us can achieve greatness.

There are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction, confident that he is leading his people the right way.

We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference.

I cannot overemphasise the value we place on a free, independent and outspoken press.

With freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk has not ended yet.

What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.

There will be life after Mandela. On my last day I want to know that those who remain behind will say: 'The man who lies here has done his duty for his country and his people.'

Sport has the power to inspire and unite people. In Africa, soccer enjoys great popularity and has a particular place in the hearts of people.

Our human compassion binds us the one to the other - not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.