Mood cheerful for Mandela's 95th birthday

• Social workers%2C military commanders and others plant trees%2C paint hospices%2C donate food
• Mandela health %27steadily improving%27
• Day overshadowed by looting

JOHANNESBURG — People from across South Africa celebrated Nelson Mandela's 95th birthday with children singing to him in townships across the country and residents taking part in charity events.

"The mood is good today," said math teacher Khelbeni Mudau, 34, and other staff members at Thuto-Lesedi Secondary School, which handed out soap and perfumes to students from disadvantaged homes.

"We remember what he (Mandela) did for us and try to do the same today," he said.

The former president's health was improving after fears that he was close to death during ongoing hospital treatment. Mandela was taken to a hospital on June 8 for treatment for a recurring lung infection.

"Madiba remains in hospital in Pretoria, but his doctors have confirmed that his health is steadily improving," said a statement from President Jacob Zuma, referring to Mandela by his popular clan name.

Many South Africans took part in acts of charity for 67 minutes to commemorate the 67 years of service Mandela gave to his country.

Social workers, military commanders and others joined in planting trees, painting hospices and donating food, blankets and other basic necessities in poor areas. Doctors also administered eye tests, inoculations and other medical treatments to the needy.

President Obama, Bill Clinton and House Speaker John Boehner joined people in wishing "Happy Birthday" to Mandela.

Those involved in celebrations in South Africa included Mandela's granddaughter, Mdileka, who served soup to poor children at a charity event adding that her family had been unsure whether the anti-apartheid icon would make it to his birthday.

"But because of the fighter that he is, he was able to fight a repressive system, and he was able, through God and everybody's prayers, to make it today," she said.

Mandela has been in hospital since June 8, when he was taken in for treatment for his recurring lung infection.

A towering figure in South African history, Mandela is credited for bringing democracy to the country. He became its first black president in 1994 after a government controlled by the descendants of white settlers was pressured to end the system of racial segregation, known as apartheid.

Mandela was jailed for 27 years under apartheid. F.W. de Klerk, the last president of the apartheid era, lauded Mandela for his commitment to reconciliation between whites and blacks.

"All South Africans, regardless of their race or political affiliation, can now proudly call him their own," said de Klerk, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela in 1993 for ending apartheid.

But the day was overshadowed for others as immigrants in Delft, a community outside Cape Town, found their shops looted and, in some cases, burned to the foundations and questions loomed about the state of democracy in the society the former president helped free.

"Daily across the country we have these incidents where several shops are looted by communities that have organized to protest (municipal) service delivery issues," said Braam Hanekom, director of People against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty in Cape Town, an immigrant rights organization.

"The general problem is that communities tend to go on looting sprees, attack and loot all foreign-owned shops."

In recent months, more than 200 shops run by Somalis and other migrants have been targeted in violent attacks, which appear to be caused by frustration and anger over empty promises from local governments, particularly a failure to deliver basic sanitation and other municipal services.

"It's not the economy," Hanekom said. "Here in the western cape there are allegations that officials are corrupt. South Africa seems to have the money and resources to provide these services but fails to do so."

"There were also some Chinese shops attacked, so I think if South Africa is not careful it could impact their diplomatic relations with countries whose citizens are operating businesses," he added.

Meanwhile, political ambivalence among young people born after the end of apartheid, known as "born frees," and tension between traditional culture and modern values paint a picture of a country struggling with its new identity.

"The people who in the 1980s and early 1990s were very much politicized and very much looking forward to an egalitarian society have become much more interested in material issues," said Ineke Van Kessel a researcher at the African Studies Center at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.

"For many people, freedom also means material progress. Freedom in many cases means catching up with the whites, and if that's what you see your parents doing, it's not surprising that this is your own expectation as well," Van Kessel said.

Still, for many — as old speeches from Mandela played on the radio throughout the day and many benefited from the kindness of strangers on the former leader's birthday — his efforts will always be remembered.

"Today is about doing something special," said Theo Egbers, 35, a copywriter who said he would be giving blood to mark the day.

"It's about giving in the same way Mandela gave to us," he added.

Featherston reported from Berlin