 |
| Oprah Winfrey started a school in South Africa. Denis Farell/AP |
Can celebrities really get results?
Different stars take on different roles when helping out in Africa, but assessing the long-term improvements isn't easy.
By Danna Harman | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the August 23, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 4
Arusha, Tanzania - Former President Bill Clinton is flying out of Malawi and into Zambia, absent-mindedly snacking on the in-flight samosas as he talks to the press. "Forget about Malawi. Think about where you were when you were 10 years old," he urges. "How did you get from being 10 ... to sitting in this plane?"
His aides have heard the talk – more than once. But even they tilt their heads to listen.
"You may have had a lot of adventures. You may have been very brave. There may have even been some accidental opportunities," Mr. Clinton says. "But ... we all believed with all our hearts that there was a critical connection between the efforts we exerted and the results we achieved."
In Africa, he says, that connection does not exist – and he wants to help create it.
He speaks in earnest, repeating his points, pressing on about systems, capacity building, and Africa in general – a place that fills him with a great sense of purpose.
Clinton, like many other famous figures who have thrown themselves into bettering the continent, is passionate about what he does here. His efforts bring both media attention and money. But assessing the long-term results of this effort is more difficult.
"There are so many dimensions to intervening in a different culture," points out Bruce Sievers, a visiting scholar at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. "The question is, how well informed are all the celebrities trying to do a thorough job in Africa, let alone those who just travel over and are blown away by the poverty?"
And are celebrities willing, he wants to know, to stick with programs they start for the necessary "at least" 20 years to come?
Just pretty faces, deep pockets?
The answer, of course, is that it depends. Celebrity attention to Africa runs the gamut. Some stars show up for a single celebrity poker match in Las Vegas or a benefit cocktail party in New York to raise awareness for an issue. Others write large checks, lend their names, and even roll up their sleeves to help, but still court controversy along the way. And yet others get deeply involved, hiring advisers and studying to understand the challenges, before deciding on what role they can play most effectively.
RSS feed
