April 5 | South Africa: Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls
Oprah Winfrey is a highly recognized person here, and in South Africa they know her for her Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. It offers academically talented girls the chance to educate and develop their leadership skills. The Academy, which sits on fifty-two acres in the Gauteng Province, provides an education for South African girls who come from disadvantaged families or communities. In 2007, 152 girls began in grades 7 and 8; these students will comprise the first graduating class. The Academy, with its modern equipment and facilities, hopes to fill to a capacity of 450 students in a few years. The students follow the South African national standards, but with Oprah Winfrey’s help, they study these along with leadership, using a lot of technology and electronic learning. They would never have had this opportunity without her support.

You can go to her website to learn more about her school and its participants. I enjoyed meeting some of the girls and hearing them talk about their dreams.