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Rihanna Takes Her Humanitarian Efforts To Malawi To Raise Money For Education Reform

Evan Rogers for Global Partnership for Education
By Raychelle Muhammad | June 27, 2017

As a superstar in the music industry, Rihanna has traveled the world performing for sold-out crowds. But her legacy as a philanthropist may well eclipse her accomplishments as an artist. In January of this year, the "Wild Thoughts" singer visited Malawi to witness first-hand what the challenges are to educating its children and to put together a plan to solve the problem.

Rihanna quickly found out that extreme poverty and a student-teacher ratio of 100:1 were among the top reasons why these bright boys and girls drop out of school. Via a partnership with the Global Partnership for Education, where she serves as the Global Ambassador, and the organization she founded called the Clara Lionel Foundation, the pop sensation is trying to raise $3.1 billion between 2018 and 2020.


"It's such a pity that they have to drop out, because they are so smart," she said in the short trip documentary. "Everybody's learning together and learning at the same pace it seems. It's sad that has to end for some of them, because they could probably do so much if they had the resources to continue and complete."

Rihanna isn't just a celebrity who cuts checks and shows up for photo ops. She literally visited classrooms, met with teachers and staff, and found out what it was like to be both a student and educator in Malawi.


The drop out rates are high, but for girls, in Malawi, the challenges are even greater. Only 29 percent of girls who start primary school graduate. The rest drop out sometime between the 6th and 8th grades because schools are far from home, there are inadequate sanitation facilities, and there are high rates of child marriage.


"It's one thing to read statistics," she said. "But I want to see it first hand, and find out all that can be done, and where to start first," Rihanna said.

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While fundraising may be a daunting task, overcoming culture, long-standing traditions, and social constructs in Malawi may not be so easy; especially when dealing with attitudes about women and girls. But Rihanna is committed to making a difference and up for the challenge. The world needs more like her.

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[Responsible Allen Iverson]

 

[Thebadguy]

Adoption has always been in the minds of one Marianna, Fla., couple. But Dashoan and Sofia Olds did something truly amazing when they adopted seven children, all siblings who had been previously separated among several foster families, to become one big family of nine.

According to WJHG, when the couple saw a local news story about the seven kids, they immediately felt it was their calling to adopt them.


“It was a done deal from the day we saw the story; before we even met them, it was a done deal. When I saw that picture, it was a done deal for me, honestly,” Sofia Olds told the news station. “We looked at each other and said, ‘We’ve got to do this, it’s time. There’s no maybe; we have to do this.’”

“We always wanted to be a blessing and adopt a child,” Dashoan Olds added.


And so they welcomed Dava, Erica, Eric, Zavian, Leondras, Reginald and Necia into their home and into their hearts.


For Necia, the oldest of the siblings, her new family was beyond her wildest dreams.

“We thought we would never get adopted, but I thought this was a really good blessing for us,” the 12-year-old said.

And Blair Bell, with the Children’s Home Society, acknowledged that she was told that she should have the children adopted separately, but Bell wouldn’t hear of it.

“I heard from so many people that finding a home for seven children would be impossible,” Bell said. “Siblings [...] that’s the longest bond that you’ll have; it was very important to find a home that would be able to take all seven and make a real forever family.”


For the Olds, they intend to make that “real forever family” a reality.

“We’re going to build their faith up, we’re going to build them educationally,” Dashoan Olds said. “We’re going to get them active in a sport or an activity, or something extracurricular. And we’re going to love each other, so we’re going to do all of it.”

http://www.theroot.com/fla-couple-adopts-7-siblings-who-were-separated-betwee-1796803595

 

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