Friday, November 23, 2007

Oprah Shuns Abuse Victim

The family of the girl abused at Oprah's $40 million Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa says their daughter, Aviwe Mncwabe, was shut out of the special confessional circle Oprah held with the students and their families when she flew to SA to deal with the abuse allegations, and that Aviwe was never given one of the special cell phones with Oprah's private number that was given to the other students...
Aviwe's father says Oprah spoke to their family by phone for two minutes and promised to meet with them privately, but never did. Aviwe has not returned to the school for fear of retribution and her father says, "Even if the staff has been changed, she feels betrayed. No amount of money can ever heal the harm our daughter has experienced." In the mean time Aviwe's father has vowed to "sell apples and oranges on the street in order to make sure his daughter has a chance to succeed."