United States talk show queen Oprah Winfrey is due to open her long-awaited school on Tuesday — fulfilling a promise she made to former President Nelson Mandela six years ago and giving more than 150 poor South African girls a chance for a better future.
Mandela was invited to be among the dignitaries at the opening of the lavish Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in the small town of Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg. He was among string of international celebrities expected to attend — though the guest list was kept secret.
Oprah said she decided to build her own school because she was tired of charity from a distance.
”When I first started making a lot of money, I really became frustrated with the fact that all I did was write cheque after cheque to this or that charity without really feeling like it was a part of me,” she said in an interview with Newsweek magazine which went on sale on Monday.
”At a certain point, you want to feel that connection.”
The $40-million (about R80-million) academy aims to give 152 girls from deprived backgrounds a quality education in a country where schools are struggling to overcome the legacy of apartheid.
Heightening concerns about declining standards in South Africa’s schooling system, the education department said last week that the school leaving matriculation exam pass rate had dropped for the third straight year.
This year’s matriculation class, which started school the same year as multiracial elections in 1994, was dubbed ”Madiba’s Children” after the clan name for Mandela, who came to power with the onset of democracy.
Yet two-thirds of the 1 667 000 children who started school 12 years ago dropped out, and only 5% of the total intake are eligible to go to university.
”We know that we still have much to do to guarantee proper education for our children, as well as provide the necessary training for those who need the skills that our society end economy demand,” President Thabo Mbeki said in a New Year’s message on Monday.
Many state-funded schools, especially in the sprawling townships that sprang up under white racist rule, are hopelessly overcrowded and lack even basic facilities like books. They are also plagued by gang violence, drugs and a high rate of pregnancy among school girls.
Top class study and sporting facilities are available, but are largely confined to private schools which are still dominated by the white minority as they are too expensive for many black and mixed race South Africans.
Winfrey’s academy offers a way out for the 152 girls, aged 11-12, who were selected from 3 500 applications across the country.
To qualify, they had to show both academic and leadership potential and have a household income of no more than R5 000 ($787) a month. Eventually the academy will accommodate 450 girls.
Many were interviewed by the celebrity, who was reported to have been moved by visits to some of the girls’ homes, a reminder of her own poor beginnings.
Winfrey, who reportedly threw a lavish New Year’s Eve party at the Sun City resort before the opening of her academy, launched the project with Mandela in 2000.
Built on 21 hectares, the 28-building campus, which was originally to cost $10-million, is said to resemble a luxury hotel more than the rundown schools most of the girls know. It boasts state-of-the-art classrooms, computer and science laboratories, a library and theatre as well a wellness centre.
”These girls deserve to be surrounded by beauty, and beauty does inspire,” Winfrey told Newsweek.
”I wanted this to be a place of honour for them because these girls have never been treated with kindness. They’ve never been told they are pretty or have wonderful dimples. I wanted to hear those things as a child.” ‒ Sapa-AP