Mahatama Gandhi and Nelson Mandela are my inspiration: Priyanka Chopra

Actress Priyanka Chopra was on her South Africa visit for promoting the UNICEF's initiative of 'Eng Violence Against Children'.

Priyanka on her tour stated that Mahatama Gandhi and Nelson Mandela have both had a great influence in her life. Both had compassion for children with which PeeCee relates a lot.

The actress had visited Harare, capital city of Zaimbabwe for her programme and met children who were victims of sexual abuse. PeeCee was touched by the stories of children and their guardians and made every attempt in order to help them in every way.

Speaking at the end of a fleeting visit to Johannesburg and neighbouring Zimbabwe, Priyanka said she feels both Mandela and Gandhi bring South Africa and India together and "we'll always be together because of that relationship."

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"Both these great men stood for the rights of children and talked about how children were the foundation of our society, and our society can never get better if we ignore our children," the actress told reporters.

"Their learnings are always examples not just to me, but to the children of both our countries and to all of us, not only because I share my birthday with Madiba (Mandela's clan name used as a term of endearment), which I do feel I am very special about and I do show off about a little, but also because of the man that he was and what he stood for," said the 34-year-old actress.

Chopra was the chief guest as UNICEF's Goodwill Ambassador at the first fundraiser in Johannesburg on Sunday, helping raise 600,000 rands for projects to curb child abuse.

"The biggest reason for this, my first trip outside of India as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, was because the statistics are staggering one out of three children under the age of 18 in Zimbabwe have faced some or the other form of sexual violence and in South Africa that number is one out of five," Chopra said.

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She requested to people not to focus on the statistics but to think about what could be done as inidviduals to save children from sexual assaults and to promote the activities of UNICEF.

"Use us I want to be used!" Chopra declared as she explained the role of UNICEF ambassadors being "a means to an end" in achieving this.

(With inputs from PTI)