The Most Powerful Weapon to Change the World

​Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world. A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.”
Nelson Mandela.

​Nelson Mandela was a visionary.
He understood that the power of education not only changes the individual but also contributes to societal change and nation building.

​“The power of education extends beyond the development of skills we need for economic success. It can contribute to nation-building and reconciliation . . . “

His vision of the power of education is sorely needed in Nigeria, where school attendance at the most basic level is far from where it should be. This lack of access to education is hampering the economic and community development of Nigeria, especially in the northern states, where school attendance is the lowest in the nation.

Mandela (aka Madiba, his clan name), understood the power of education to overcome prejudice and promote reconciliation. “We are steadily but surely introducing education that enables our children to exploit their similarities and common goals, while appreciating the strength in their diversity.” He believed that children educated together would do much to eliminate the historical racial divides that plagued South Africa since the arrival of European colonists in the mid-17th. Century.

Africa Education Partnership has a similar vision.  Along with our partners our shared vision for Graceland International School is to provide a quality education for boys and girls from all backgrounds, regardless of religious and ethnic background. One of our stated aims mirrors the spirit of Nelson Mandela’s vision to “promote peace, reconciliation and gender equality in education”

Two of Mandela’s most challenging statements highlight the power of education:
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.
“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”​​

​Mandela quotes from:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/05/nelson-mandelas-famous-quote-on-education/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.998273fd4896 ​