Mandela and Machel support "Send our Friends to School" campaign

Sheetal (15 years old), Alfie (14 years old), and Matthew (14 years old) from East Ham, on London's east side, met Mandela as part of the Make Poverty History rally at Trafalgar Square. In a symbolic gesture, Mr Mandela handed over a white band to the kids - the symbol of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. In so doing he was also handing over the fight for freedom, justice and equality to a new generation, he told them.

"Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom” he told Sheetal, 14, as he handed her the white band. Sheetal responded by pledging to take the white band to the G8 summit in July, as part of the Global Campaign for Education's (GCEs) Send My Friend to School events, and give it to the G8 heads of state.

The Send My Friend to School challenge, focus of this year's GCE's Global Action Week (April 24-29 2005), also won the support of Graca Machel, former education minister of Mozambique and wife of Nelson Mandela. Desptie a hectic schedule in London, Mrs Machel managed to find time to meet with young people and hear them talk about the cut-out "friends" they have made to represent more than 100 million children out of school around the world. Mrs Machela signed a pledge on the back of one of the "friends" stating that: “Girls’ education is the key to ending world poverty. 2005 marks the year that world leaders have broken their promise to get equal numbers of girls and boys into school. I support the Global Campaign for Education’s call to educate girls to end poverty and call on world leaders to respond to calls from children around the world to Send our Friends to School."

The GCE is hoping to collect millions of cut-out Friends made by children around the world and present them to the G8 leaders when they gather in Scotland this July.

>> Find out how to join the global Send My Friend to School challenge

>> GCE is part of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty

>> Read news coverage of the Mandela rally