Dear Mr President
8-year-old pens a letter to Cyril Ramaphosa
When an East London mother shared her little girl’s letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa on social media, the duo had no idea how many heartstrings it would tug.
Daisy Ngedle’s letter has been shared more than 200 times on Facebook since it was first posted on December 7.
The next item on the eightyear-old’s wish list is to visit Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings to see how he gets the job done.
When the Daily Dispatch met with the mother and daughter at Clarendon Preparatory School for Girls on Tuesday, the Grade 2 pupil said she was “hopeful that her letter would reach the president soon”.
“I wrote two letters but I started it all over again because the pencil writing was too faint. I feel really good for writing to him and I hope he responds,” she said.
That is highly possible as one of the people that shared the letter was Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Khusela Diko.
Her letter, written in pencil with a few letters in pink and blue, read: “Dear Mr Ramap[h]osa you inspire everyone in this country. I want to be a president just like you. Were you friends with Nelson Mandela? You are a strong indepe[nde]nt president. If you can make the world a better place why don’t you. Are you kind to children? Can girls be presidents? How hard is it to rule the world? I like your work as a president. How many people do you need to vote for you? Were [sic] do you live in Johannesburg? From Daisy in East London.”
All Grade 2 pupils had to write to the president as part of a class exercise, but only Daisy’s mother posted it on social media.
“I wrote the letter to the president because he inspires me. I think he does a great job serving the country. I want to thank him. I asked him where he lives because I want to visit him. I want to see how he works.”
Daisy said she was hopeful Ramaphosa would give her a few pointers on how to run the country – should her presidential ambitions come true.
“Presidents inspire people and I want people to be inspired by me. If I become president I will change the world by giving poor people a bit of money and a place to stay.
“I will also be kind to children because children are really sensitive and I love them,” Daisy said.
She said she did not think the president visited children, but she definitely would when she runs the country.
She is an avid reader who also enjoys swimming, playing netball and playing fun games with her friends.
“I have read 28 books this year and I know because I count my books when I get them from the library.”
She also said that the world needed more girl presidents because there are “a lot of boy presidents”.
“I’ve never heard of a girl president and I think girls should have the right to be president.”
Daisy has offered to help Ramaphosa garner more votes in next year’s elections.
“I want to help Mr Ramaphosa get lots of votes by asking people to vote for him,” she said.
Daisy’s mother Zenande said: “We didn’t expect it [the letter] to reach this far. It’s been a great experience. She mentions being a president a lot.
“It’s always between that and a dancer or a teacher, but the presidency comes up a lot.”