Oprah Winfrey says she chose South Africa as the place to open a $40 million school for girls because “the need to learn just isn’t there” in U.S. schools.
“I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools that I just stopped going,” the talk-show queen says in Newsweek, on newsstands today.
“If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don’t ask for money or toys; they ask for uniforms – so they can go to school.”