English Speech - Oprah Winfrey - Based on Gandhi Quote

Good morning Mrs Bester and class *pause*

How you react to something is always up to you. There is no 'right' way to react to anything ; 'normal' is different for everybody.

A great example of this is Oprah Winfrey, whose human rights were violated, from the age of nine, in may ways, by many people that she trusted.

Yet as she grew up, she began to make a name for herself and make a difference to the world around her.

Believe it or not, her first job was as a bagger in a grocery store. She then went on to be the youngest news anchor, as well as the first black female anchor. She is known as the greatest black philanthropist in American history. According to some assessments, she may even be the most influential woman in the world.

Oprah has always believed that education is the door to freedom. Through her private charity, the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, she has awarded hundreds of grants to organizations that support education and empowerment of people worldwide.

Her foundation has helped build the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, which is situated in Johannesburg, that makes leaders out of girls, from all over South Africa, despite their poor backgrounds.

Oprah's public charity, Oprah's Angel Network, has raised almost 800 million rand. It has also helped establish 60 schools in 13 different countries.

This proves that nothing in life should change your mindset. That you are always in control of your own life. How you end up is up to you.

Gandhi once said: "You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind."