Oprah’s South African School -- Praise and Criticism

The papers today are filled with stories about Oprah Winfrey’s $40 million dollar school for disadvantaged girls in a small town near Johannesburg, South Africa.  The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy For Girls opened to much fanfare with appearances by Nelson Mandela and guests like Sidney Poitier, Tina Turner and Spike Lee.  The opening ceremony highlighted all the advantages being given to the 152 eleven and twelve year old girls that were chosen to attend.

Who can criticize such a gracious gesture by Oprah?  Apparently, lots of folks.

Noting that the school is “set on 22 lush acres and spread over 28 buildings, the complex features oversize rooms done in tasteful beiges and browns with splashes of color, 200-thread-count sheets, a yoga studio, a beauty salon, indoor and outdoor theaters, hundreds of pieces of original tribal art and sidewalks speckled with colorful tiles”, and that “Winfrey has spent five years and $40 million building the school to her own Oprahlicious specifications--did we mention the huge fireplaces in every building?”, the Huffington Post called the school “extravagant.”  It went on to note that the South African government was going to build the school with her until it became clear that the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy For Girls was going to be “too elitist and lavish for such a poor country.”

What about building a school in the United States?  When asked about it, Oprah told Newsweek:

"I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools that I just stopped going. The sense that you need to learn just
isn't there," she says. "If you ask the kids what they want or need, they
will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don't ask for
money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school."

So what do you think about Oprah’s school?

Comments

[acm]

The Huffington Post, at least in the post you linked, made no official comment. It says quite clearly at the top of the page that they ripped the article from Newsweek verbatim.

[Juke]

People are so insane. If Oprah had spent $40 million on an extra mansion no one would have complained one bit, but because she spent $40 million to build the finest school in Africa which will gradually hold 450 girls, some posters are foaming with venomous hatred.

I think the mere thought of poverty stricken African girls sleeping on high thread count sheets is enough to make people's skin crawl. Of course no one has a problem with rich spoiled white kids attending multi-billion dollar Ivy league schools just because their daddy was an alumni, but the thought of giving a first rate education to the best and brightest, most impoverished girls in Africa provokes a backlash.

I think Oprah's the most impressive woman in the world, and we will see amazing things from these girls. With a mother figure like Oprah guiding them, how could we not.

There already is an education system in America. The best and brightest and poor girls in Africa have zero opportunity and are especially at risk for premature pregnancies, rape, and HIV, but now thanks to Oprah, will go on to change the face of a continent.

I love you Oprah!