Nelson Mandela's daughter, granddaughter to visit St. Augustine

As a sign of the vast support for the launch of the St. Augustine pilot office of Operation New Hope and the Ready4Work program, Nelson Mandela’s human rights activist daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, and her daughter Tukwini will visit the city.

The Mandelas will attend a 4:30 p.m. launch ceremony on July 19 for Operation New Hope’s Ready4Work program at St. Paul Development Center in Lincolnville (83 Washington St.).

The event is free and open to the public. The development center will be the temporary site for St. Augustine’s Ready4Work program once start-up funds are raised.

At 5:30 p.m., the Mandelas will attend an invitation-only exhibition of “The Nelson Mandela Unity Series” at the Lightner Museum. The series was a collaboration between Nelson Mandela and contemporary artists chosen from across the world.

The events are part of Nelson Mandela International Day Jax, which actually includes three days of events that involve the late South African leader's daughter and granddaughter. His birthday, July 18, is celebrated worldwide.

For St. Augustine, the visit has great significance for those who will gain access to the Ready4Work program. It's for those who have been through the criminal justice system and are looking for a second chance.

Clients attend a program that teaches life skills, employment skills and resume writing. It even pays for vocational training.

One of the big advocates of the program is Compassionate St. Augustine and its CEO and founder Caren Goldman.

"It’s a way for people to really celebrate the most important issue of, and that is, what this is going to make available and do for people who are returning from the Department of Corrections or who have been given an alternate type of sentence," Goldman said.

According to the Florida Times-Union, the annual birthday celebrations “are a way for people to recognize their power to change the world,” Makaziwe Mandela said. “My father once said, ‘For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains but to live in a way that respects and embraces the freedom of others.’ It is for that reason that ... we will honor the exemplary work of social justice organization Operation New Hope.”

Operation New Hope was founded by Kevin Gay in Jacksonville 20 years ago. He later became friends with Khalil Osiris, who served 20 years in a Massachusetts prison for robbery and went on to become an international speaker and author.

Osiris was pen pals with Makaziwe Mandela. In 2011, he moved to Johannesburg and launched several educational and social reform initiatives. Among them was a prisoner re-entry program, Get Out and Stay Out Africa.

Gay and Osiris have similar goals and the same hero in Nelson Mandela. Gay was even asked to join the board of the House of Mandela Family Foundation that Makaziwe Mandela co-founded.

Goldman said it's great for this community that human rights leaders like the Mandelas, Gay and Osiris are supporting efforts here. In a year, she said, there could be as many as 100 people who have gone from incarceration to the workforce.

"Because this is the very first branch and we’re in the process of getting it open for the Ready 4 Work program as soon as possible, that’s the primary reason that (Makaziwe Mandela) is coming down," Goldman said. "She wholeheartedly believes in the work."

As a show of support, the St. Augustine Commission will issue a proclamation at Monday's meeting that July 18 is Nelson Mandela International Day in the city and "urges all our citizens to recognize this day and work towards the betterment of our community."

Florida Times-Union reporter Beth Reese Cravey contributed to this report.