Today is the International Day For The Eradication Of Poverty, and for this reason, Oprah Winfrey is our Woman Crush Wednesday. The billionaire media executive, talk show host and actress has put in tangible efforts to help eradicate poverty. In the initial stages of her financial success, Winfrey extended charity to different causes which through the years have been estimated to be over $350 million.
Considering charity as an extension of herself and not ‘charity’ in terms of being benevolent to the less fortunate, Winfrey, has lived up to the standards she created for herself.
Michelle Obama aptly said: “When girls are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous.” Trailing these wise words and committing to the same ideology, in 2007, Winfrey built a school for girls in South Africa – the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy.
“I specifically chose girls because giving an opportunity to a girl means that she doesn’t just change her life. The nature of women is to nurture so they nurture their families, they nurture their communities. I say to my girls, ‘You are going to have the chance to break the cycle of poverty in your family forever.” Oprah said in a cover interview with Variety.
Clearly, the process of eradicating poverty commences when the youths – especially the girl child – are properly educated.