South Africa's Desmond Tutu Announces Retirement

Courtesy petermartinart.co.uk

On October 7th 2010, his 79th birthday South African anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu will retire from public life.

His announcement came yesterday at St George's Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa. "Instead of growing old gracefully with my family, reading and writing and praying and thinking, too much of my time has been spent at airports and in hotels." 

He says come October he will spend one day per week in the office--wrapping up all the public appearance he has already committed too. After serving the nation of Africa for over 30 years, Tutu will spend his time growing old gracefully, but will still continue to support his Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation and continue to work with a global council of statesmen called The Elders, founded by former President Nelson Mandela.

The Elders on May 29th 2010: from L-R Graca Machel, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter, Mary Robinson, Kofi Annan, Gro Brundtland, Martti Ahtisaari, Ela Bhatt, Lakhdar Brahimi and Nelson Mandela.

 In 1960 at age 30, Tutu was ordained a priest of the Anglican Church and because of his clerical status, where he spoke about the injustices of apartheid. His outspokenness got him arrested several times, but like Mandela--he was passionate about his work and the people of Africa. In 1984 (I was just entering the world) he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and two years later he was made the first black Archbishop of cape Town.

   

His international stature brought a whole new light to the anti-apartheid struggle. Only 10 years as archbishop, Tutu retired in 1996, but remained a heavy public life, this public life that is leading to his partial retirement.

A beloved man of South Africa and the world, he say the greatest moment of his life was introducing Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa.

Both Mandela and Tutu are by far two of the world most extraordinary men. In my opinion, I think they are the only two who can inspire any generations, race, or creed. Their story of struggle, hope, courage and victory makes an individual stand up and fulfill their calling--their calling to serve man. To help out of love, to love because of God--if any person understands those two, then their jobs are done.

Being part of a generation that even knows who these two men are--they have done their jobs and their names will be known to the generation after mine.  If anyone wants to be inspired, to have that divine inspiration we look for, you need not look very far, but to just educate oneself about these two magnificent men. Whom out of struggle changed a nation!

        

Photos courtesy Time.com