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10 Celebrities Who Do Volunteer Work In Africa

10 Celebrities Who Do Volunteer Work In Africa

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Outside of Africa’s unparalleled tourist destinations and cushy safari trips, are some of the most destitute and impoverished settings imaginable. Many nonprofits and foundations have been established over the years, and thousands of brave, charitable souls travel to Africa to lend helping hands, including some of your favorite celebrities. Here are 10 superstars — Hollywood icons, politicians, and singers — who take time out from their glamorous lives, doing volunteer work in Africa to help reduce poverty, conflict, and disease.

 

rooney
www.sylvscothran.buzznet.com

Rooney Mara and the Slums of Kibera  

She proved her fierce chops with her Oscar-nominated breakthrough as the hardened Lisbeth Salandar in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” but her softer side reaches far across the world to Kenya. She founded the charity organization, “Faces of Kibera,” which has become a crucial step towards providing AIDS-affected orphans with education, medical care, and community programs in Nairobi’s largest slums. Having merged with the non-profit Uweza Foundation (www.uwezakenya.org), Rooney now serves as president of the program. She can solve murders all she wants onscreen, but in real life she’s a golden-hearted badass of the truest form.

pittclooneydamon
www.usmagazine.com

George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and Darfur 

They love swindling corrupt casino owners while maintaining hunk status, but these guys have taken serious time and effort to bring light and relief to one of the worst humanitarian crises ever witnessed. Their project, Not on Our Watch (notonourwatchproject.org), aimed attention at halting the Sudanese genocide committed by government-backed militias, and whistleblowing on other atrocities around the world. Clooney was arrested in 2012 for protesting outside of the Sudanese embassy in Washington. Damon is co-creator of Water.org. We love “Ocean’s Eleven” boys for their charm and looks, but we love ’em even more for their charitable hearts.

washington
www.thatblackgirlsite.com

Isaiah Washington and Sierra Leone 

Once a TV sensation surrounded in controversy after hurling homophobic slurs against a “Grey’s Anatomy” co-star, Washington aimed to counter his foibles by lending a hand in the decades-long battle for human rights in Sierra Leone. Drawn by his genetic connection to the Mende and Temne people of this country, Washington found unsanitary squalor upon his arrival. For the last six years, he has helped rebuild schools and provide clean water to its impoverished citizens, many of them victims of the country’s horrendous “blood diamond” industry. In 2008, he obtained citizenship, and assumed the role of village chief. Just call him by his tribal name, Gondobay Manga II, if you run into him there! Or just look into his charity, Gondobay Manga Foundation.

oprah

Oprah Winfrey and her South Africa Girls’ Schools 

The goddess of modern-day media was so transformed by her visits to South Africa that she opened a chain of boarding schools, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, in 2007. Her goal was to bring top-notch AIDS/HIV-awareness and leadership education to young ladies whose families are economically disadvantaged. While a marked success (many of its graduates have moved on to notable American universities), the organization is not without controversy. Besides accusations of extravagant overspending, soon after its inception a dormitory supervisor was charged with sexually abusing seven students. Regardless, Winfrey has donated more than $400 million to education worldwide, and is an altruist of the first degree. Read more here: www.owla.co.za

brangie
www.newsweek.com

Brangelina All Over the Place 

They rival the Obamas as the power couple of the century. They have spawned a multicultural megafamily, including adopting their oldest daughter Zahara from Ethiopia. But their consciousness of the underserved may be the mightiest part of their coupledom. Jolie actively supports more than 30 charities, and has been on countless missions to at least two dozen countries with refugee camps, many in Africa. As a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), she has helped improve conditions for citizens in Darfur and Tanzania, and received numerous humanitarian awards, including Citizen of the World Award from the U.N. Pitt is also active with green housing efforts, including rebuilding homes in post-Katrina Louisiana. Together, Jolie and Pitt created the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which has donated more than $8 million to humanitarian aid organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and Global Action for Children.

wilde
www.ryot.org

 Olivia Wilde’s Trip to Senegal 

We envision the most stellar career for Olivia Wilde — wide-eyed and gorgeous — but we also see how big her heart is, and forecast tons more selfless charity work in her future. In July, Wilde traveled to Senegal with RYOT, an online news/action source that encourages active participation in world events. Wilde journeyed with RYOT’s co-founders, Bryn Mooser and David Darg, to witness and visually document the goodness of the 1 Million Health Workers Campaign, a group that oversees the training of its employees in Sub-Saharan Africa. Touring the country from top to bottom, Wilde witnessed and reported on the progress of health workers who use mobile apps to help fellow citizens.

..Predator, Mums FP, The Carnivores and S
www.clatl.com

President Jimmy Carter and The Carter Foundation 

Forever an outspoken advocate for the underserved, President Jimmy Carter and his Carter Foundation — founded in 1982 by Jimmy and his wife Rosalynn — have helped eradicate disease, eliminate conflict, and create stable futures for many Africans. Choose a country on their website’s interactive map and illuminate yourself. Among Carter’s many accomplishments is the Guinea Worm Eradication Program which lowered cases of the lethal parasite in Sudan and South Sudan by 99 percent since 1986. They also train farmers in at least 15 African countries to increase their yields, and provide community agriculture workers with needed tools. This guy could win a Nobel Peace Prize annually (he’s already got one) for his ubiquitous achievements!

benaffleck
www.telegraph.co.uk

Ben Affleck and the DRC 

After plucking an Academy Award this year for producing his hit “Argo,” Affleck thanked his wife and kids onstage: “The people we love, we have to work on these relationships.” Afterwards, he made sure to mention, “The other thing I work on is East Congo.” Affleck has fought the charge put forward by many tired observers that the Congo “cannot be changed.” After a handful of trips to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Affleck and co-founder Whitney Williams jump started the East Congo Initiative, a non-profit advocacy group drawing international attention to ending violence and restoring peace in one of the most war-ravaged, physically and sexually violent countries in Africa. Focusing mainly on grants for local community-based organizations that could better provide resources for healing and progression toward sustainable living, Affleck is a true pioneer for this land, where more than five million war-time deaths have occurred in the last decade.

bonoafrica
www.probonobono.wordpress.com

 Bono’s Commitment to the African Continent  

The legendary sunglasses-clad Irish rockstar usually only shows his face outside of U-2 concerts to speak out about injustice and economic imbalance in the world. One of the first celebrities to call attention to the atrocities of South African apartheid, he also launched various awareness organizations throughout Africa. ONE (one.org) is an advocacy group of up to five million people that puts pressure on governments to provide resources for education and preventable disease treatment. He also started Edun (edun.com) with wife Ali Hewson. It’s a fashion brand that manufactures its fabric in countries including Uganda. Just Google search this amazing dude; his philanthropic efforts are endless!

silhouettesss
www.psdgraphics.com

 YOU! (Insert Selfie Above)

If a celebrity is truly one to be celebrated, then let’s turn attention to the everyday hardworking people who take time from their daily grind to lend hands and hearts to those less fortunate. Whether it’s volunteering in the Peace Corps or getting a degree in social work or nonprofit management, there are thousands of first-world altruists out there who dedicate themselves to lowering poverty, eradicating disease, and volunteering with kids in African schoolhouses. It’s not too late to take that Christmas bonus or graduation check and buy a flight to Entebbe or Cape Town. Throw in a safari or a surfing excursion to boot, and you have the most meaningful trip of your life! You don’t need an Oscar to have your photo pasted above! We tip our hats to the courageous and innovative helpers in beautiful Africa!!