Rihanna has shared footage of a humanitarian trip she took in January to Malawi. The “Love on the Brain” singer was there to hear about the challenges faced in regards to education as part of her role as founder of the Clara Lionel Foundation and Global Ambassador for the Global Partnership for Education.
The clip shows RiRi talking to government officials, students and teachers about the state of education. She visits the Muzu primary school and, while there, she teaches a math class. The short film explains that one teacher is often responsible for up to 100 students at a time. Most of those students don’t get proper access to food.
“I believe in the future,” says one student in the clip who prizes education over a meal. “When I will be a businessman I will have more food.”
Rihanna stressed the importance of visiting in person to see Malawi firsthand. “I’m really here to see it. It’s one thing to read statistics, but I want to see it firsthand and find out all that can be done and where to start first,” she says.
The singer’s influence has already proven fruitful, as after she had posted to social media asking for help and donations, PM Justin Trudeau’s office was “inundated with demands to commit to the Education Cannot Wait Fund”, according to Global Citizen.
“Just three weeks after Rihanna’s rallying cry on Twitter urging Global Citizens to call up PM Trudeau to make a change, which prompted 185,000 actions, a $15.3 million commitment was made at the Global Citizen Festival on Sept. 24 by the Canadian government to grant over 98,000 children and youth all over the world desperately needed access to education in emergencies,” a statement reads.
Watch the clip below: