In reading about Oprah Winfrey’s vision for her Leadership Academy for girls, a particular theme struck me: the role of the attitude those in power had towards population they were trying to help. Oprah herself describes how she encountered an unsympathetic attitude regarding poor black girls from many South African education officials. As she quoted to one reporter, “it was clear that the attitude was “these are poor African girls. Why spend all this on them?” It seems that those in South Africa who had the power to help change the education system were still affected by apartheid beliefs about the role of black women in society and what they should be educated for. Even as the government made statements supporting equality in education, implementing a new system was difficult.
Oprah remained unapologetic in her goal and her method. Her defenders later praised her for “sending a message to the world that blacks and women are valuable” and “having the audacity to spoil these Black African girls.” Oprah may not have used a community based model to address community issues, but she did bring a new perspective to the community that many would not have otherwise acknowledged. She sought out girls with leadership and academic potential in places where no one else would have looked, and developed a space where that potential could be tapped. She sent a very strong message to the world about women’s education and started many conversations among high profile celebrities who took up her cause.
In our class, I think we have an important lesson to learn from Oprah’s method. As the students deciding where our $10,000 will go, we are in a position of power to help others, and so we must be conscious of the attitude we have towards our target population. We must follow Oprah’s example of challenging the implicit beliefs that are held about who is deserving of education in the developing world. We must consider how can be impartial in our grant process and continue to develop methods that help us self-evaluate our progress. I hope Oprah’s example will be on all of my peer’s minds as we move forward with our decision-making.
Global Philanthropy 
Pamela, I too was shocked by the attitude some of the South African government officials displayed towards Oprah’s academy plan. I felt frustrated by their seemingly lack of sympathy to understand the benefits of offering better education opportunities for young girls. After all, a larger number of educated women can reduce the country’s other problems like AIDS and teen pregnancy. Another section in the article that surprised me was Oprah’s selection process for her school. I can only imagine how difficult it was from Oprah’s perspective on turning down so many applicants who all wish for a better learning environment and how emotionally painful it was for Oprah to hear these girls’ backstories. One of the critiques towards Oprah’s program struck a cord with me; how would the girls re-integrate themselves into their communities after completing Oprah’s academy? This made me wonder what the long term impacts of our $10,000 grant donation will have on education and how the donation addresses the problem not only on the surface level but in a deeper manner to resolve the issue systematically.
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Pamela, I really enjoyed reading your insight and found myself in agreement with many of the points you made. Although I personally might not have went about such a large project dealing with such a large sum of money in the manner that Oprah did, I question those who are quick to criticize her – mainly because the societal benefits which are meant to be produced are clearly long term, and it would be unwise to judge so quickly.
Reading about the poor attitude of the South African government officials regarding Oprah’s academy plan was no doubt disappointing and uncomfortable, but it also made me question whether or not there might have been valid reasoning for their skepticism not mentioned in the article, beside the most obvious inference that they were still effected by apartheid beliefs. Either way, it seems that the skepticism Oprah faced played a large role in solidifying her desire to stick with her original plan of building an extravagant school.
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