By Ndundu Sithole and Jon Herskovitz
HENLEY ON KLIP, South Africa Jan 14 (Reuters) – Talk
show host Oprah Winfrey proudly saw the first class of girls
from disadvantaged backgrounds graduate on Saturday from her $40
million school in South Africa.
The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girl celebrated the
graduation of 72 girls. Wearing white dresses, the girls were
cheered on by their families.
“The pride that I feel today is overpowering,” Winfrey said
at the graduation. “I have been on a mission my whole life to be
able to give back what I have been given. Today I am fulfilling
that mission.”
“This class will prove that when you invest in the
leadership of girls, you invest in a nation,” said Winfrey, who
herself emerged from childhood poverty to become one of the most
influential women on American television.
The facility opened to much fanfare in 2007 with former
South African President Nelson Mandela on hand along with U.S.
celebrities including singer Tina Turner, filmmaker Spike Lee
and comedian Chris Rock.
The graduation celebration, attended by Mandela’s wife Graca
Machel, was a rarity for the country’s high schools.
“I’m very glad. I’m very happy. I feel blessed, you know.
The girls look like angels,” said a grandmother of one of the
graduates.
Continued…
