Atlanta producer/rapper/DJ Lil Jon continues to use his hip-hop earnings for good, opening a second primary school in the West African nation of Ghana.
AOL reports the Southern beatsmith opened his second school in the village of Mafi Atitekpo. The new school, named Mafi Atitekpo DA Primary School, broke ground in December of last year and was officially inaugurated in July 2018, according to Pencils of Promise (PoP), the nonprofit organization working with the “Snap Yo Fingers” artist. PoP helps build schools and increase educational opportunities in developing nations. The school currently has 313 children enrolled.
The first school the “Get Low” rapper developed, Abomayaw D.A. Kindergarten, was built in honor of his late mother, Carrie M. Smith.
“Last year [October of 2017], I went with my family to open up my first Pencils of Promise school in Ghana, and now to have over 300 kids already enrolled in my second school there is incredible! It’s been really fulfilling to see the impact these schools have made on so many of these children’s and families’ futures,” said the rapper.
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#TBT OPENING CEREMONY FOR MY 1ST SCHOOL N ASUOGYAMAN, GHANA 🇬🇭 📚 @pencilsofpromise
Lil Jon spoke to CNN in January about his initial trip to Ghana and why he felt compelled to help PoP with his $70,000 contribution.
“When I saw the conditions where these children were trying to learn, one community they had a big mango tree and two classes were sitting under the mango tree and that’s not a condition conducive with learning,” he told the news network. “Kids are going to get distracted, plus, it’s extremely hot. It compelled me to want to do more.”
He added, “Children shouldn’t have to suffer for any reason.One of these kids could grow up to be a scientist, a lawyer, an astronaut, the president of their country. I could create an environment where all these things could happen.”
