Most of us have made a big promise and then let it slip. Oprah Winfrey did the opposite. As the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation tells it, in 2002 she told former South African President Nelson Mandela that she would build a school for girls in his country, and she did. It has educated more than 1,000 young women since then.
A talk about poverty started it
The plan began during a stay at Mandela's home. The foundation says the two were talking about how to fight poverty when Winfrey shared her belief that education levels the playing field. She also said she wanted to someday build a school for girls in the country. Mandela wasted no time springing into action to help make that day come sooner, and the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls opened in 2007, just five years after her initial promise. Born into poverty in the Jim Crow South, Winfrey put her goal in simple terms: "I wanted to build a school for girls like me."
Getting in is not easy
Every year, more than 6,000 girls apply, and about 1% are accepted, according to the foundation. Average class size is around 60 students. All of the students have overcome childhood poverty and trauma, and Winfrey describes them as tenacious, charismatic, and smart. The 52-acre campus just outside Johannesburg has 21 classrooms, six laboratories, a library with 10,000 volumes, and a 600-seat theater. Winfrey personally chose features for the dorms, saying she wanted to create a place she would want to be a part of. She has described the academy as one of her most important legacies.
What the 90% figure means
The academy now reports more than 1,000 graduates, and earlier foundation figures put the share going on to college at 90 percent. Alumnae have gone on to schools such as Spelman, Oxford, and Stanford's medical school. Graduates have pursued further studies at top universities in South Africa, the United States, and Europe. By comparison, only 20% of students in South Africa go to college, though the two figures are not directly comparable. Those numbers are from the school's own supporters, so treat them as reported results, not an outside audit. The numbers also do not show how many graduates finished their degrees or the jobs they got. But they suggest that real doors were opened for these girls. In 2020, alumnae created a network of 300 people and partnered with nine nonprofits for COVID-19 relief work in South Africa.
Why girls’ education matters
{{/usCountry}}The academy now reports more than 1,000 graduates, and earlier foundation figures put the share going on to college at 90 percent. Alumnae have gone on to schools such as Spelman, Oxford, and Stanford's medical school. Graduates have pursued further studies at top universities in South Africa, the United States, and Europe. By comparison, only 20% of students in South Africa go to college, though the two figures are not directly comparable. Those numbers are from the school's own supporters, so treat them as reported results, not an outside audit. The numbers also do not show how many graduates finished their degrees or the jobs they got. But they suggest that real doors were opened for these girls. In 2020, alumnae created a network of 300 people and partnered with nine nonprofits for COVID-19 relief work in South Africa.
Why girls’ education matters
{{/usCountry}}This story reflects a broader pattern. A 2018 World Bank report, Missed Opportunities: The High Cost of Not Educating Girls, by Quentin Wodon and colleagues, estimated that limited schooling for girls costs countries between $15 trillion and $30 trillion in lost lifetime productivity and earnings. The estimate is for barriers to girls completing 12 years of school. The report also linked girls dropping out of school early to a higher risk of child marriage and early childbearing. They are broad estimates across many countries and do not measure this academy. Still, they help explain why the school’s results draw interest.
A chapter ends, but the mission goes on
The academy announced in July 2026 that its boarding school would close at the end of the 2027 academic year. Under the academy's original partnership agreement, the campus will be returned to the Gauteng Department of Education. According to a representative for Winfrey, current students will move to other top-tier schools, with their tuition paid in full by Winfrey through graduation. Winfrey has said the next chapter will allow the work to reach more young women across South Africa, including through an expanded national scholarship program for academically gifted girls. The academy also said it will continue to stay in touch with its alumnae through mentorship and support for higher education. This story is a nudge for anyone who has ever procrastinated on something important.