Oprah opens up her school and heart to media
18 June 2009, 10:58
Oprah skipped and jumped around with her girls. Her smile and her embrace wide and warm, she showed them off like a proud parent.
And the children, around 300 of them, were enchanting in their private space: the enormous campus the international superstar has created for them in the village of Henley-on-Klip, south of Joburg.
This week was the first time Oprah has invited the South African media to stroll unfettered around her Leadership Academy since its launch two years ago, and on Wednesday, uninhibited and apparently without security, she joined the cluster of cameras and the writers on the hunt for quotes.
There to bolster her were the award-winning British movie star Thandie Newton, South Africa's biggest music star HHP, American wellness guru Kathy Freston, storytelling queen Gcina Mhlophe, major American artist Greg Lauren and gumboot supremo Teboho Ramoliki. They were teachers for the week as the Academy held days of arts workshops for the girls, allowing them to play stage games with Newton, freestyle with HHP and call on their inner peace with Freston.
Oprah queued for her vegetable lasagne like everyone else on Wednesday night, and cheered on the schoolgirls dancing to Katy Perry. The invitation to the media was for the world to see that the children she has chosen are not prisoners, but normal schoolgirls, learning in a place of unparalleled advantage. It was indeed a portrait of happiness.
So much controversy has been crammed into the last few months, with the Academy alleged to be a fortress where even the family of pupils were barred; a principal under scrutiny; a matron accused of sexual abuse and put on trial; and a group of girls suspended and expelled for misbehaviour. Oprah's dream of a place of sanctity, where bright but desperately disadvantaged children could be steered into success, was beginning to fray. It was breaking her heart.
So she chose this week to begin again.
This week's Saturday Star takes you on a tour of the Academy.
And the children, around 300 of them, were enchanting in their private space: the enormous campus the international superstar has created for them in the village of Henley-on-Klip, south of Joburg.
This week was the first time Oprah has invited the South African media to stroll unfettered around her Leadership Academy since its launch two years ago, and on Wednesday, uninhibited and apparently without security, she joined the cluster of cameras and the writers on the hunt for quotes.
There to bolster her were the award-winning British movie star Thandie Newton, South Africa's biggest music star HHP, American wellness guru Kathy Freston, storytelling queen Gcina Mhlophe, major American artist Greg Lauren and gumboot supremo Teboho Ramoliki. They were teachers for the week as the Academy held days of arts workshops for the girls, allowing them to play stage games with Newton, freestyle with HHP and call on their inner peace with Freston.
Oprah queued for her vegetable lasagne like everyone else on Wednesday night, and cheered on the schoolgirls dancing to Katy Perry. The invitation to the media was for the world to see that the children she has chosen are not prisoners, but normal schoolgirls, learning in a place of unparalleled advantage. It was indeed a portrait of happiness.
So much controversy has been crammed into the last few months, with the Academy alleged to be a fortress where even the family of pupils were barred; a principal under scrutiny; a matron accused of sexual abuse and put on trial; and a group of girls suspended and expelled for misbehaviour. Oprah's dream of a place of sanctity, where bright but desperately disadvantaged children could be steered into success, was beginning to fray. It was breaking her heart.
So she chose this week to begin again.
- This article was originally published on page 3 of The Star on June 18, 2009
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