Local youths pay homage to world icon

Sisters Kennedy and Drew Pirtle were given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to honor the great Nelson Mandela in December during a family trip to Capetown, South Africa, a trip the young girls said was a meaningful and unique life experience.

In early December, Kennedy and Drew visited Nelson Mandela's prison cell on Robben Island. While there, the girls played the South African national anthem, "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika," which means "God bless Africa," as their way of honoring and memorializing the man who fought for the freedom of so many.

However, when the family first started planning the trip, they didn't know they'd be honoring a recently passed Mandela.

The girls' father, Dr. Stephen Pirtle, said he and his wife, Dr. Valencia Andrews-Pirtle, enjoy traveling to Africa, and just over a year ago they started planning what would be their first trip with their two daughters. The family planned to spend time in Capetown and to tour Robben Island, but the trip took on special meaning for the Pirtles when they arrived in New York for a connecting flight and learned Mandela had passed.

Stephen said by the time they arrived in Capetown, tributes to Mandela were being seen everywhere.

"When we got there, there were tributes to Nelson Mandela everywhere. On the TV, on sides of buildings, everywhere. So it was a very special atmosphere to be in," Stephen said. "President Obama actually flew into to South Africa while we were there. Everyone had good things to say about the president and good things to say about Nelson Mandela. It was nice being there."

The girls had learned South African national anthem specially for the trip, and once there, played in a few locations during, including during dinner one night at the hotel. But when they were learning the song, the two young girls had no idea they'd be playing it as a memorial to Mandela.

"This was a great experience," Kennedy said, "I really liked it because Nelson Mandela fought (to end) apartheid, and since we played for his prison cell, it was a great experience."

Kennedy's sister, Drew, quietly nodded, echoing what she had said of the trip.

Stephen said he's proud that he and his wife were able to give his daughters this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, adding that while the trip was nice and certainly will have a lasting impact on the family, it was also a little bittersweet with Mandela's passing.

"So we had planned for the girls to honor Mandela by playing at his cell, but we didn't know they would be paying tribute to him having passed," he said. "You never want the world to lose a man like this, but it did create a unique experience that I couldn't have planned if I had tried."

cpinkard@blythevillecourier.com