My off-grid school, by Oprah Winfrey

Glitz is good

Oprah’s opened a new school as part of her Leadership Academy in South Africa – and it’s off-grid! Although it’s more out of necessity than for lofty environmental reasons – electricity and water at the site are unreliable, and the building only used to have four toilets.

“The Seven Fountains ” is Oprah’s second school in South Africa, after the exclusive – and controversy-laden – Leadership Academy for Girls outside Johannesburg opened in January. That project was criticized for spending $40m on a school for only 152 pupils when there are so many more who need those kind of facilities. Rather tastelessly, the school boasted a yoga studio and beauty parlour.

This time, Oprah’s spent just over $1.5 million (£850,000) on the off-grid school outside the remote town of Kokstad in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal, funded through her Angel Network, a public charity that supports organisations and projects focused on, among other issues, education and literacy.

The school, which will be run by the KwaZulu-Natal department of education, has 25 classrooms, three multipurpose rooms, a library, computer centre and two sports field. It also fit into the department’s budget for a school this size.

“It can be done within the expectations of budgets. We used our imagination and creativity to build not only a good school but a great school,” said Winfrey.

Oprah is hoping the new school will become a ‘model of sustainability’. Since a fresh supply of water to the area is not consistently available, Winfrey had architects install a water recycling system that harvests rain water and also uses seesaws and merry-go-rounds to pump water. The building takes advantage of solar power for electricity and also benefits from a large organic garden for daily meals.

“Winfrey first visited the school when it was located on a farm in the area during her Christmas Kindness 2002 initiative. Bearing gifts, clothing, books and teacher training materials, she was impressed by the school’s 1,000 eager pupils and dedicated staff.

The school was later forced to move from the farm and relocated to a building with no windows, little electricity and running water and only four toilets. During a follow-up visit by Winfrey’s Angel Network in 2004, the organization committed itself to building a new school for the pupils.

“We thought the school you had before was not good enough so we wanted to build the best school for you,” she said.

The school’s principal, Veliswa Mnukwa, praised Winfrey for hearing their plight and called her an “angel”.

“This is the second time you are visiting us but now it is a very different school. Gold, platinum, silver, diamonds … nothing compares with what you have done for us,” she said.

The locals are hoping to benefit from using the school’s facilities as well as the children. Parent Lindiwe Mbambo said the school is also going to have a lasting affect on the community.

“Even as a parent I am going to participate here. There is a night school, a computer centre and a library that we can use. I can’t express my gratitude for Oprah. The old school was so miserable,” she said.

Similar projects in developing countries have helped communities raise their standard of living by employing renewable energy and conservation ideas (such as the use of solar cooking boxes – see ‘Now Concentrate’ ). Local authorities aren’t likely to procrastinate over planning permission, and the lack of country-wide grid systems make renewable energy an increadibly attractive alternative. Rising fuel prices might force indebted developing countries to embrace renewable energy in a way we never could.