The charming and charismatic Tutu has been in and out of hospital on numerous occasions since 2015 for a recurring infection. He was readmitted to hospital Sept. 17. He has battled prostate cancer successfully over many years.
Desmond Tutu is married to Namalizo Leah Shenxane. They had four children: Trevor Thamsana Tutu, Theresa Thandeka Tutu, Naomi Nontombi Tutu and Mpho Andrea Tutu. Mpho became an Episcopal priest. She is also the executive director and founder of the Tutu Institute for Prayer and Pilgrimage, chairwoman emeritus of the board of the Global AIDS Alliance, chairwoman of the Board of Advisors of the 911 Unity Walk and a Trustee of Angola University.
The former Archbishop created the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town to help create a more compassionate world. Tutu’s legacy is profound, but groups such as these will continue his excellent work for many years to come.
He is on the board of directors in the International Criminal Courts Trust Fund. He is also a member of the U.N. Advisory panel on genocide prevention. He has also been named the head of a U.N. fact finding mission to the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, where Israeli defence forces killed 19 civilians.
Tutu attended the 2009 U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. At this forum he advocated for governments to sign the binding document on climate justice, displaying his passion for the environment and understanding of important issues that will greatly affect future generations. Recently he has filed petitions to the U.S. government concerning climate change.
Tutu is the patron of the Forgiveness Project, an organization that seeks to aid in conflict resolution between victims and the perpetrators of crime. The organization also aims at breaking the cycle of vengeance and encouraging behavioral change to improve society at a basic level.
The Rainbow Nation term refers to a diverse and multi-racial country in South Africa after apartheid, reflecting a positive social outlook. It’s a little known fact that Tutu coined the term, and it has gained worldwide use thanks to his influence and the respect that he commands globally. The South African flag is one of the most colorful in the world, reflecting many of colors of the rainbow.
He studied at the Pretoria Bantu Normal College from 1951 to 1953 before moving to Johannesburg to teach at the Johannesburg Bantu High School and Munsienville High School in Mogale City. Tutu followed in his father’s footsteps after his family could not afford the schooling needed for him to become a doctor.
Tutu resigned from teaching after the Bantu Education Act was passed in 1953, enforcing racial segregation at educational facilities, and making it difficult for black South Africans to be as well educated as white South Africans.
In 1998, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He remained positive, went through successful treatment in the U.S. and went into full remission. He became an advocate for access to health care throughout the world, especially for cancer-related diseases and HIV/AIDS.
Tutu was the first black Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town and bishop of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa from 1986 to 1996. This is now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. In addition to being head of the Anglican Church in South Africa, he was also Archbishop in Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, and Lesotho. This platform gave him a voice against oppression and a leader for all of Southern Africa.
Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize in October 1984 for contributions to the unification of South Africa and the campaign to resolve problems in the apartheid regime. He has also won other honors and awards such as the Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award, and has continued to be a positive element in South Africa and the world.
The two important anti-apartheid figures were great friends through their struggle for freedom in apartheid South Africa, and both lived on Vilikazi Street in Soweto with only a few homes separating their families. Tutu’s family moved to Vilikazi Street in 1975, and it is one of the only streets in the world where two Nobel Prize winners have lived.
An ever-present force for good in South Africa during apartheid times and beyond, Tutu was chairman of The Elders from 2007 to May 2013. This group was formed by Mandela to tackle some of the world’s toughest problems. Along with Mandela and Tutu, other Elders included former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, and former president of Ireland and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.
In October 2004, Tutu took on an unfamiliar role when he played Lord Justice Steyn in a Broadway play in New York entitled “Guantanamo: Honor-bound to Defend Freedom.” The play served to criticize the U.S. maintaining Guantanamo Bay as an detention center with questionable methods. Tutu’s character was a judge who questioned the legal justification of the center.
Tutu released a children’s book, “Desmond and the Very Mean Word” about a boy named Desmond who rides around his neighborhood on a bicycle. Spoiler alert: when Desmond is called a nasty name, instead of reacting with hatred he reacts with understanding and compassion, surprising the hurtful name callers in the process.
