Star-Studded Opening For Oprah's School

Oprah Winfrey headed a celebrity lineup that included Tina Turner and Spike Lee at the opening of her school for poor South African girls.

The true stars Tuesday, though, were Sade and Megan, whose father killed their mother and then himself; Zodwa, whose mother died of AIDS, and some 150 other girls who Winfrey said have a "light so bright" that it shines through despite their circumstances.

The $40 million Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in the town of Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg, plucked the girls from poverty to be groomed for power.

Winfrey, who began her own life in humble circumstances in Mississippi, plans to open another school – this time for boys and girls - in eastern KwaZulu-Natal province later this month.

Guests at the ribbon-cutting ceremonies, including Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Sidney Poitier and Chris Tucker, were asked to bring a personally inscribed book for the library, which includes everything from self-help books to Harry Potter.

Winfrey, who is called "Mam Oprah" by the girls, said she came with a celebrity posse for a reason. "These people have the power to do things. They have voices which can be heard in the U.S. and across the world," said the talk show superstar, who built an empire by following her own passions for self-improvement, helping others, promoting literacy and the arts.

Spike Lee, who attended with his family, said it was a "testimony to Oprah's power to see all these people showed up to support her."

Africa has drawn attention from numerous celebrities, including rockers Bono, Bob Geldolf, and Madonna and actor/director George Clooney, who is using his voice to speak out against the violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Nelson Mandela, whom Winfrey credited with inspiring her to build the school, interrupted his vacation for the ceremony. Mandela, 88, looked frail as he was helped to the stage by Winfrey and his wife, Graca Machel.

The anti-apartheid leader, who became South Africa's first democratically elected president in 1994, beamed as he told Winfrey: "This is not a distant donation, but a project that clearly lies close to your heart."

The girls sat attentively on stage in green-and-white uniforms as the poignant stories of some were told in a documentary shown to guests. A few students greeted guests and media with Winfrey, clutching at her long pink dress and holding her hand.

Maphefo Leputu, 12, of Soweto, who used to share a bed with her cousins, said she was overwhelmed at the prospect of her own room and bathroom - and the chance to one day become a lawyer.

"I would have had a completely different life if this hadn't happened to me," said 13-year-old Lesego Tlhabanyane, whose mother abandoned her when she was 4. "Now I get a life where I get to be treated like a movie star."

Earlier Winfrey said at a news conference that educating girls could have far-reaching benefits.

"Girls who are educated are less likely to get HIV/AIDS, and in this country, which has such a pandemic, we have to begin to change the pandemic," she said.

Gene Sperling, director of the Center for Universal Education at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the world has only recently begun to understand the breadth of the positive impact of education on problems as diverse as infant and maternal mortality and the contraction of deadly diseases. Previously, he said, experts had only linked education with rising incomes.

"There's never a CNN camera showing a child dying from lack of education, but children die from lack of education every day," Sperling said.

Many of the girls at Winfrey's school come from families affected by AIDS, which has infected 5.4 million of South Africa's 48 million population and hit women disproportionately hard.

Winfrey referred repeatedly to her own impoverished childhood and said she was grateful she had a good education.

She promised to continue to support the girls so they could attend any university in the world.

The idea for the school was born in 2000 at a meeting between Winfrey and Mandela.

Built on 52 acres, the 28-building campus resembles a luxury hotel, with state-of-the-art classrooms, computer and science labs and a library, theater and wellness center. Each girl lives in a two-bedroom suite. It will eventually have 450 students.

Some South Africans called the school elitist and a waste of money which could have been used to educate more children. But others applauded Winfrey.

"Any initiative which ... enhances the quality of education and which enhances the possibility of a young person realizing their dream to do better is a welcome opportunity," Education Minister Naledi Pandor said.

Princeton Lyman, a former U.S. ambassador to South Africa and currently a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said there had to be investment in education both in the way Winfrey is tackling the issue, and in ways that help the broader population.

"You make leaders by treating them as elite," said Ken Walker, the Africa press officer in Johannesburg for the aid group CARE, pointing out that a private individual has different responsibilities from those of a government.

"Now if the government builds a school for $40 million for 450 kids, then we can quibble about it," he said.

Despite government efforts to improve the school system, the education department said last week that two-thirds of the 1,667,000 South African children who started school 12 years ago dropped out, and only 5 percent did well enough to be eligible to go to a university.

State-funded schools, especially in the townships that sprang up under white racist rule, are plagued by gang violence, drugs and a high rate of teen pregnancy.

Winfrey selected the 11- to 12-year-old girls for the school from 3,500 applications across the country. To qualify, they had to show both academic and leadership potential and have a household income of no more than 5,000 rands ($787) a month.

Winfrey is building a home for herself on the campus and plans to spend time with the girls and be involved in their education.

"I love these girls with every part of my being," she said. "I didn't know you could feel this way about other people's children."