Back in January, the great and good Rihanna took a trip to Malawi — one of the poorest countries in the world — as part of the Clara Lionel Foundation’s partnership with the Global Partnership for Education and Global Citizen. The three charitable organizations share a mutual goal: to ensure that the world’s poorest kids have access to a quality education.
During her trip, Harvard’s Humanitarian of the Year visited the Muzu primary school. There, Rih witnessed first-hand the numerous challenges facing the southeastern African nation’s educational system: A single teacher is often responsible for teaching up to 100 students. Many students drop out due to poverty, others have difficulty absorbing information because they haven’t been adequately fed. The school buildings are dilapidated. There’s very little infrastructure, forcing students to walk lengthy distances — and dangerous roads — to attend their classes.
All the while, a camera crew documented Rih’s trip, enabling her to share the experience with those of us back home. The resulting mini-documentary is equal parts educational and heart-wrenching. “It’s such a pity that they have to drop out, because they are so smart,” states Rihanna in the clip. “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.” (The trifecta’s goal is to raise $3.1 billion to bring quality education to over 870 million children across 89 countries by 2020.)
That said, there are some uplifting moments, like when Rih uses music to teach the kids math. “Kids, they adopt melody really, really quickly,” explains Rih. “And so if you can use that as a learning tool, I think that’s the most brilliant, brilliant thing.”
Watch the full video below.
[ via Cosmopolitan ]
