Is there anything that Oprah can’t do? She’s had a stellar year at the helm of the OWN Network. She ended the year with arguably one of the biggest interviews of her career, the final interview with Michelle Obama as FLOTUS. It’s amazing that even with all of her accomplishments, the media mogul always manages to keep giving back.
Affectionately known as “Mom O” by girls who attend The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG), for almost a decade, Oprah has been helping girls in South Africa receive a first-class education. Now we’ll be able to go inside and see the impact she has made in a new special premiering in January..
From South Africa to Santa Barbara to Atlanta to North Carolina, FUSION documents the personal journey of five girls from the Academy’s inaugural class as they mark new milestones in their lives. “O Girls,” hosted by FUSION Correspondent and former Harpo staffer Kimberly Brooks, premieres January 15 at 8 p.m. on FUSION (channel listings), just shy of the tenth anniversary of the academy’s founding.
Each of the stories showcased in “O Girls” personifies how education can empower young women and girls all over the world to do incredible things. In the interview, Oprah discusses a range of topics including why she started the Academy, what her relationships are like with the girls who attended and why she chose Kim, a former Harpo staffer and now Fusion correspondent, to visit the school with her almost a decade ago. It’s an incredible testimony to how one decision can change the fate of others for the greater good – an important experience that Oprah clearly takes to heart.
“My work with these girls feels as natural to me as if they were my own children. For me, this is what mothering was meant to be,” Winfrey told FUSION’s Kimberly Brooks in an interview. “I wanted to help girls who really wanted it. They could see the possibility for themselves, if only. If only they had the means to do it,” she said.
Watch the full trailer below.
Melissa Kimble is the Senior Social Media Manager for the EBONY brand. An advocate for Black Creatives via #blkcreatives, you can connect with her on Twitter at @Melissa_Kimble.
