Madonna goes to Malawi to adopt a child. Brangelina takes an extended vacation in her adopted daughter's native Namibia. Gossip columns and the front pages of newspapers have recently been rife with headlines about celebrities heading to Africa and adopting children from countries hit hard by war and disease. While the intention to save a child is certainly an admirable one, millions of other children continue to live in deeply inhumane conditions from which there is seemingly no escape.

Oprah Winfrey, one of the most famous and powerful celebrities in the United States, has made an attempt to change that.

In the past she has given members of her audience cars, cartloads of gifts and money to donate to their preferred charity. Her latest project, however, is one that has taken her to the historically war-torn and AIDS-plagued South Africa where she opened a school for disadvantaged girls. The school has computer and science facilities, a library and a theatre among other features. Although there are schools with advanced facilities in South Africa, they are largely private schools attended by students from the white minority who can afford the expensive tuition.

A recent Associated Press article noted that the $40 million school is the fulfillment of a promise she made during a meeting with Nelson Mandela in 2000, and it is currently set to serve 150 girls.

3,500 applications were received for admission to the school, and many of the selected girls come from families hit by HIV/AIDS, which has infected 5.4 million of the 48 million people in South Africa and is more prevalent in women than men.

Oprah's idea to build a school that will serve to educate, empower and inspire generations of young women is a move that will serve to help people in struggling nations help themselves. Adoptions by celebrities, however heartfelt they are, serve to bring a single child out of their dire situation and away from their homes, families, and cultures. Both courses of action are admirable, but Oprah's project allows young people to remain in their countries and gives them the opportunity to contribute to the development of their nations. Ultimately, that is probably where they want to be: home.