Shropshire charity chief tells of special Mandela bond
[gallery] Mike Kendrick had a special bond with Nelson Mandela and was invited to his house for more than a decade.
The friendship began when Mr Kendrick turned to the former South African President to support his charitable foundation.
The Mineseekers Foundation, dedicated to the detection, identification and removal of landmines across the globe, was founded and launched in 2000 by Mr Kendrick.
The charity also launched the Sole of Africa campaign to help the communities affected by landmines.
"He was the founding member of my foundation," said Mr Kendrick, who operates his charity from his Bobbington base, near Bridgnorth.
"I first met him in 2000 in Cape Town and later on several other occasions, both in Mozambique and Johannesburg.
"As soon as we finished testing our equipment in Kosovo I jumped on a plane to meet him in Cape Town. He signed as a patron there and then.
"As man I do not think anybody will ever replace him.
"He took away the ridiculous apartheid and freed South Africa.
Humorous
"He was interested in freedom for the whole African continent and all over the world.
"He signed his book for me when I first met him, titled The Long Walk to Freedom – and it was a long walk to freedom for him, but he did it all in peace.
"He did not have any enemies in the world because he forgave them all.
"Mandela was also partly responsible for peace in Northern Ireland because it was John Major who took his lead in Africa, the importance of recognising your opposition, when he entered peace talks.
"I will always remember him for being a very humorous man and we spent a lot of time laughing together.
"Even during the harder times when he became ill he always had a nice word to say and a smile."
There are more than 100 million landmines in use and someone steps on a mine every 19 minutes. Most of the victims are women and children.
Technology developed by the British Ministry of Defence and licensed to Mineseeker helps to detect mines in an instant.
The system was tested and deployed in Kosovo and featured in the BBC documentary Mineseekers – and soon the Sole of Africa Campaign was launched.
Once mines have been identified and the removal process is under way, the land is released for agriculture and a management team is installed to teach communities to sow, grow and sell their own produce
The significance of the project led Mr Mandela, as patron of Mineseeker, to make an impassioned plea to businesses to join with him.
On the Mineseekers website, he wrote: "As patrons of The Mineseeker Foundation my wife Graca Machel and I take this opportunity to call upon world business leaders and statesman to support a new technology that can hasten our quest to rid the world of landmines.
"I call upon you to stand hand in hand with us as we move forward to remove landmines from our planet, once and for all. I thank you."
Mr Kendrick said now the time had finally come to say goodbye to his friend and founder patron, his thoughts turned to his family and the people of South Africa. Using Mr Mandela's clan name he said: "Madiba's legacy will continue to burn brightly around the globe.
"We have lost one of the world's greatest human beings, his courage, inspiration and leadership have set the bar so high it is doubtful that any human being will ever match what he achieved.
"He not only united a nation but set the example for the rest of the world. I am personally deeply saddened at the loss. My times with him will remain close to my heart.
"His quick wit and welcoming smile were special and brought much joy to everyone in hard times. He was a true inspiration to us all.
"There was simply no-one like him, and I doubt that there will ever be."
