Please help CantonRep.com serve you better by providing the following anonymous informatio... Oprah Winfrey opens second schoo

The Seven Fountains Primary School was funded by Oprah's Angel Network, a public charity that supports organizations and projects focused on education and literacy.

Dressed casually in a cream top and white pants, the talk-show host danced and sang with teachers and children who lauded her with cries of "Long live Oprah, long live!"

Winfrey first visited the school in 2002 when it was located on a farm, bringing gifts, clothing, books and teacher-training materials for its 1,000 students and 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.

The supply of water to the area is irregular, so the school has an innovative system that recycles rainwater and uses seesaws and merry-go-rounds to pump water. It also uses solar power and has landscaped gardens that supply vegetables for school meals.

"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," Winfrey said.

Winfrey emphasized the importance of education in combating poverty and said every child had a right to succeed. "We are here today to celebrate the transformative power of education," she said.

Principal Veliswa Mnukwa praised Winfrey for responding to their plight and called her an "angel." "This is the second time you are visiting us, but now it is a very different school ... Nothing compares with what you have done for us," she said.

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

Winfrey opened her Leadership Academy for Girls outside Johannesburg to great fanfare Jan. 2, with celebrities like Tina Turner and Spike Lee in attendance, as well as former President Nelson Mandela.

The lavish $40 million school was the fulfillment of a promise she made to Mandela six years ago and aims to give 152 girls from deprived backgrounds a quality education in a country where schools are struggling to overcome the legacy of apartheid.

But some parents have complained to local media about academy rules limiting the girls to one family visit a month and restricting their cell phone calls and consumption of junk food.

"They say they are satisfied that the girls are not being treated unfairly," he said, adding that the school had tried to discourage parents from bringing the girls soft drinks or sweets because they were fed a nutritious diet.

Samuel also dismissed complaints the school was culturally insensitive and said it was based on the African philosophy of ubuntu, which places an emphasis on the collective.

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.

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