A wellwisher carrying get-well placard arrives at the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Sunday, June 16, 2013. South Africa's president says that Nelson Mandela is seeing sustained improvement from the recurring lung infection that is forcing him to spend a ninth day in the hospital. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
June 17, 2013 - 1:17 AM
JOHANNESBURG - The wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela says that love and generosity from across the world have brought comfort and hope during Mandela's latest hospitalization.
Mandela spent his 10th day in the hospital Monday for a recurring lung infection.
President Jacob Zuma said Sunday that Mandela remains in serious condition but that his doctors are seeing sustained improvements. Zuma said Mandela is engaging with family during visits.
Graca Machel, Mandela's wife, in a written message Monday expressed the family's gratitude for messages of support, in particular from children singing outside the Mandela home.
The leader of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, Mandela spent 27 years in prison during white racist rule. He was freed in 1990 and became South Africa's first black president in 1994.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013