JOHANNESBURG — Schoolchildren in Nelson Mandela's home village are singing songs in his honor and others are leaving balloons and well wishes outside the hospital where he is being treated.
South Africa's first black president has been undergoing treatment for nearly a week for a recurring lung infection.
There was no immediate word Friday on his condition, though the government said late Thursday he was improving though remained in serious condition.
At Mandela's childhood school in Qunu, school children in bright blue uniforms sang in his honor Friday. Others have gathered to pray outside the Pretoria hospital where he is staying.
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.
