New World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz met former South African President Nelson Mandela and played football with children in the Soweto township on Saturday as he continued his tour of Africa. The former US deputy defence secretary, who was one of the architects of the Iraq war and says Africa will be his priority in his new role, was surrounded by 20 orphans and abused children at a hostel in the Soweto townships.
"He is a loving and kind man. Not a lot of people come to this centre and think about us. He cares," 15-year-old Mahlodi Mashiawe, an abused child now living in the Salvation Army's Carl Sithole Childrens' Centre, told Reuters.
The centre also cares for orphans and children suffering from HIV/AIDS, which infects more than 25 million people in Africa including up to 40 percent of adults in South Africa's neighbours Botswana and Swaziland.
Wolfowitz went on to play football with the children and allowed them to clamber all over him, before moving on to meet anti-apartheid icon Mandela to discuss Africa's future and the role the World Bank could play in boosting its economies.
The two held one-to-one talks before being joined by senior World Bank officials. Mandela remained seated the entire time with his feet up and his legs covered by a blanket.
"What is so striking is not only his inner serenity but also the clarity and directness with which he thinks and speaks," Wolfowitz's adviser Kevin Kellems said of the 86-year-old Mandela.
"He jokes that he is grateful when young people still want to shake his hand, but the truth is that it's a privilege to meet him," he added.
Wolfowitz also met senior South African business leaders and was due to meet later President Thabo Mbeki, who celebrated his 63rd birthday on Saturday.