Access HollywoodAccess Hollywood

    Thoughts From Africa With Oprah

    Posted by Shaun Robinson January 10 at 03:07 PM | Comments (5)


  • I have just returned from a trip that has been one of the greatest highlights of my career.

    I was invited to attend the grand opening of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. This is the project that Oprah says has been a life-long dream: to create a nurturing and safe learning environment for underprivileged girls. Girls who are special – who are exceptional and who will become our next leaders.

    The campus is located in an area called Henley-On-Klip, 40 miles outside of Johannesburg. To describe this school almost defies words. Aesthetically, it rivals any private school here in the United States.

    Oprah has given these girls the best of everything even though she was told that these 12 and 13-year-old girls come from nothing and so the bare minimum would do.

    The 152 girls come from the poorest families in South Africa. Many of them live in the shantytowns where a makeshift house is no bigger than most people's kitchen. And bathrooms are non-existent - many share an outdoor toilet with DOZENS of families. No electricity, no running water.

    Walking to school is a lesson in dodging a minefield. It is not uncommon for a girl to be raped or become the victim of violence in some other way.


    In spite of all of these hardships, I can tell you firsthand, these girls are BRILLIANT. They are smart, articulate, charismatic, and the most important goal for each of them is to LEARN. They know that education is the key to lifting themselves out of their conditions and making a better life for, not only themselves and their families, but for all of South Africa.

    I asked a group of girls who will be President, and at least eight of them shouted out, "I will!" I would put the speaking skills of these young girls up against any HIGH school student here in the states. I can't express into words how smart these girls are.

    I thank God for giving me the experience to have met them.

    I'll be posting more information about my trip to South Africa and the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in my upcoming blogs.

Comments

I love you Opra !

Posted by: nellie sanders | February 15, 2007 06:04 PM

Shaun,

can you please provide me with the recipe for the shrimp marinade you were preparing with the Top Chef host on your show. Thanks

Posted by: Carla Robinson | February 25, 2007 11:39 PM

Shaun, thanks so very much for sharing your story about traveling with Oprah to her name school with us. It makes me feel so proud to see what she has accomplished in her life time. They can say anything they want about Oprah, but I'll always be pulling for her because of what she's done to help so many.

P.S. Since Access Hollywood is so good at what they do (Information-wise), is there any chance of us fans seeing a 'first ever' Hollywood coup, by having Afro-Brazilian actress Tais Araujo (The only black female in Brazil to ever have a lead role on television. She actually made history.) on one of your programs? Talk about headline making news.
Just thought I'd ask maam. Keep up the good work. Thanks.

Posted by: Jeane K. | March 10, 2007 08:38 PM

God Bless You! these children need our help .....thanks

Posted by: normamaria | May 2, 2007 06:58 PM

I totally love, respect and eat, drink and sleep Oprah Winfrey. I believe that she is blessed and will always be, because she gives so much back to this world. I would like to know the criteria for a girl to be excepted at Oprah's Leadership Acadamy. My daughter Keisha is 10 years old and attending Ellerton Primary in Three Anchor Bay in Green Point Cape Town. She was one of the two pupils chosen at her school to attend a Leadership Acadamy Group In Washington DC. earlier this year.It was scheduled for March 2007. Unfortunately I received the notification to late for me to have her registration Fees and enough time to raise funds for her to go. She was very dissapointed and so was I.She understood that I could not afford it and that the limited time was preventing me from raising the funds. All and all it would have been roudabout R25000.00. I felt so proud of my daughter Keisha. Please let me know ASAP. Keep up Gods Good work Miss Winfrey because I believe you are an angel sent. I am a 40 year old woman that also wants to make a small change, even if it is in just one persons life.I am striving towards it and promised myself I would.I believe that I have a bigger purpose then just being another, wife and mother.I won one of Oprah's 20th Anniversary DVD's a while back. And believe me I cry every time I watch the dvd's. I told my two daughters " you will see in time I will get us a house of our own and God will provide in his time. But it must have at least four rooms or extra space so I can make provision for another child or two. I so much want to adopt a baby/babies( Aids Oprhans). I am just a little bit more determined after watching my Oprah Dvd's.

Posted by: Yolande Cupido | May 4, 2007 06:05 AM


Post a comment


(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)