Dr. Jonathan Quick, MD, MPH, President and CEO of Management Sciences for Health, explores Nelson Madela's unique leadership style and Christian faith and his status as a global champion for those living with HIV/AIDS.

1. Mandela Faith-Leadership-AIDS_CCIH_VIDEOLINKS_21-Jun-2014.docx 1
The quiet faith of Nelson Mandela:
Methodism, Leadership, and AIDS
A discussion animated by his own words
Christian Connections for International Health
28th Annual Conference
Transforming lives: Christians in Global Health
June 22 – 23, Marymount University, Arlington, VA
Jonathan D. Quick, MD. MPH, Management Sciences for Health
Katrina F. Quick, American University of the Caribbean Medical School
Theme
Nelson Mandela was perhaps the most universally beloved figure of the twentieth century. His story provides
both an inspiring example and challenging questions on transformation, faith, leadership, and global health.
Through a discussion animated the life and words of Nelson Mandela we will explore three questions: Was
Nelson Mandela a Christian? What leadership qualities enabled President Mandela to achieve the near
impossible? Why did it take a decade for Nelson Mandela to speak out on AIDS?
SETTING THE SCENE
VIDEO # 1. Nelson Mandela _I Am Prepared to Die_ Speech (with subtitles_transcript)_5min30sec
www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0hxWXXjIPc
Was Nelson Mandela a Christian?
Nelson Mandela was baptized as a child, educated at a Methodist mission school, and attended Methodist Sunday
services throughout his 27 years as a prisoner Robben Island. He was acutely aware, however, that religion could
divide people and that the Dutch Reform Church was a leading defender of apartheid. As President, Mandela did
not speak openly about his faith. But he never compromised Christian values of forgiveness and reconciliation.
VIDEO # 2. NELSON MANDELA'S FAITH_3min40sec
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz-qTEx6xyo
Long Walk to Freedom, The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela:
 Reflecting the influence of church pastor at the Methodist mission board school, Mandela wrote, “Virtually all
achievements of Africans seemed to come through the missionary work of the Church.”
 Describing a conversation with two journalists who visited him at Robben Island, “I told them that I was a
Christian and had always been a Christian. Even Christ, I said, when he was left with no alternative, used force
to expel the money lenders from the Temple. He was not a man of violence, had no choice but to use force
against evil.”
 “The policy [of apartheid] was supported by the Dutch Reform Church, which furnished apartheid with its
religious underpinnings by suggesting that Afrikaners were God's chosen people and that blacks were a
subservient species. In the Afrikaner's worldview, apartheid and the church went hand in hand.”
Speech at the Zionist Christian Church Easter Conference, Sunday, April 3, 1994 [two weeks before Nelson
Mandela was elected president]:
We bow our heads in worship on this day and give thanks to the Almighty for the bounty he has bestowed
upon us over the past year.
We raise our voices in holy gladness to celebrate the victory of the risen Christ over the terrible forces of death.

2. Mandela Faith-Leadership-AIDS_CCIH_VIDEOLINKS_21-Jun-2014.docx 2
Easter is a joyful festival!
It is a celebration because it is indeed a festival of hope! Easter marks the renewal life!
The triumph of the light of truth over the darkness of falsehood!
Easter is a festival of human solidarity, because it celebrates the fulfilment of the Good News!
The Good News borne by our risen Messiah who chose not one race, who chose not one country, who chose
not one language, who chose not one tribe, who chose all of humankind!
We pray with you for the blessings of human solidarity, because there are so many who wish to divide us!
We pray with you for the blessings of reconciliation among all the people of South Africa!
We pray with you so that the blessings of peace may descend upon South Africa like a torrent!
We pray with you that the blessings of love may flow like a mighty stream!
Khotso Masione! May Peace by with you!. Uxolo Mazayoni!
From a letter to Mrs. Deborah Opitz, written in Pollsmoor Prison, Cape Town, South Africa, May 1989,
Religion, especially belief in the existence of a Supreme Being, has always been a controversial subject that
splits nations and even families. But it is always best to treat the relationship between a man and his god as a
purely personal affair, a question of faith and not of logic. No one has the right to prescribe to others what they
should or should not believe in.
What leadership qualities enabled President Mandela to achieve the impossible?
South Africa’s transition in 1994 from 50 years of apartheid was perhaps the greatest social transformation of the
twentieth century. The end of apartheid was inevitable. International pressure, escalating domestic violence, and
South Africa’s deteriorating economy made it so. What followed apartheid was far from inevitable. The break-up
of South Africa, prolonged civil war, or violent overthrow of the minority white government were all possible. It
was Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary combination of leadership qualities that made the seemingly impossible
peaceful transition happen: his driving vision of a nonracial, non-sexist democracy; magnanimity; moral stature;
judicious use of authority; confident humility; and quiet personal faith (J. Quick, Introduction to Nelson Mandela,
Long Walk to Freedom [excerpts], The Trinity Forum, Washington, DC, www.ttf.org/product/long-walk-freedom).
VIDEO # 3. Nelson Mandela on Oprah Winfrey_4min40sec
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i-BH3HXT24
VIDEO # 4. Nelson Mandela_ 1995 Rugby World Cup_3min
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1VuGEcYV4k
Why did it take a decade for Nelson Mandela to speak out on AIDS?
Between Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 and when left the Presidency in 1999, South Africa’s AIDS
epidemic became the worst in the world, infecting nearly one in five adults. Yet President Mandela remained
virtually silence on the AIDS epidemic. This changed in June, 2000. His closing speech at the International AIDS
Conference in Durban was a dramatic and catalytic call to action. Mandela became a global champion for AIDS,
creating his own foundation and working vigorously to fight AIDS. In 2005, when his last surviving son, Makgatho,
died of AIDS-related complications, he shared the news publicly and redoubled his fight against AIDS.
VIDEO # 5. Nelson Mandela_2000 International AIDS Conferences_Durban_3min
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPldsHRbnBI
VIDEO # 6. Nelson Mandela Addresses HIV_AIDS in South Africa_5min30sec
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6MPZq_UOKY
Closing
VIDEO # 7. How Nelson Mandela Emerged from Prison a Better Man - Oprah Winfrey Network_2min
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5UtOYH8SnU