Joan Countryman has recently returned from the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy For Girls in South Africa. Ms. Countryman is a Quaker and former headmistress of Providence's Lincoln School.
During the opening in January Countryman realized the person speaking after her was none other than Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of South Africa.
"The thought that he was there and part of the event was extraordinary," Countryman said. "That day was magic."
Countryman, also said that the Leadership Academy we very similar to American schools, "I found that much more was the same than was different. Imagine a bunch of middle school girls running around a boarding school, and it was just what you'd think."
The young girls' drive to change their lives through education inspired Countryman.
"They came from challenges we can hardly imagine," Countryman said. "The history of South Africa meant that this population was deliberately deprived of an education until 12 years ago. For me, the most important thing is that you expect that they can achieve and you make that happen. It sounds a little simpleminded, but you have to start with the expectation that they can do it."
Ms. Countryman lived at the academy through the first term, January through March, helping to create an education curriculum.
"I think the school is well launched," Countryman said. "It is a beautiful campus, but the girls do share a set of showers and toilets. Their dorm rooms are very pleasant and welcoming, but they are not very big."
Leaving was hard, Countryman said, but she plans an active retirement.