READ ALSO: Oprah Winfrey Recalls Struggling To Praise Her Mother At Church EventAccording to Winfrey’s representative, the scholarship program will begin after the academy’s students graduate. On December 6, 2002, Winfrey, Mandela, and Kader Asmal, the Education Minister at the time, began construction on the future location of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation has contributed $400 million to the academy’s creation through personal donations from Winfrey. We express our profound gratitude to Ms Oprah Winfrey for her extraordinary vision, generosity and unwavering commitment to the education of South Africa’s young women.” READ ALSO: Oprah Winfrey Reveals Motive For Ending Her Successful Talk Show