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African Celebrities who are involved in Humanitarian Work and Charitable Missions:

24 September 2014

Celebrities who support humanitarian causes are not only the bravest people in the world, they are the celebrities who deserve the most praise for their sacrifice and commitment towards providing a future for the less privileged. From Didier Drogba to Alek Wek, ZenMagazine crunched the numbers to rank the most truly charitable stars. Here are 7 African celebrities who are very active in humanitarian causes either via their NGO’s or working with other foundations. As with many lists of this type, the rankings are highly subjective, as it’s impossible to rate certain humanitarian causes as more worthy than others.

Alek Wek: South Sudanese–born Supermodel and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador’s NGO is called Alek Wek’s Journey Home. Through the foundation, Alek supports the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to expand and launch life changing projects in the areas of education, agriculture and health in her home country of South Sudan where it is helping 700, 000 South Sudanese rebuild their lives.

For more on the foundation, visit: Alek Wek’s Journey Home
Connect with Alek on Twitter: @TheRealAlekWek

Bisila Bokoko: Equitorial Guinean global brand ambassador and entrepreneur, Bisila Bokoko, made history by becoming the only woman of African descent to serve as the Executive Director of the Spain–US Chamber of Commerce. Her non-profit organisation, the Bisila Bokoko Africa Literacy Project (BBALP), is a foundation focused on sourcing resources from all over the world with the purpose of building libraries and providing books and educational facilities to children and families in rural areas across Africa. Ms. Bokoko has focused her efforts on organizing people and resources to build modern libraries in Africa and they are currently planning to launch a new library in Zimbabwe. BBALP has worked actively and directly with children across Africa in countries like Ghana and Kenya.

For more information on Bisila’s NGO, visit: www.bbalp.org
Connect with Bisila on Twitter: @BisilaBokoko

Waje: In 2012, Award-winning Nigerian songbird Waje launched her non-profit organisation Waje’s Safe House to provide support to women and children across Africa. The safe house’s first project was financial support to the children’s primary school in the impoverished slum town of Makoko in Lagos. Waje through Waje’s Safe House in support of MEDIC gave away proceeds from her Ring Back Tune [RBT] earnings towards the refurbishment of the dilapidated school house and furniture for the school. Most recently, Waje’s Safe House is partnering with women organisations in 3 cities in Nigeria to provide computer education and facilities to young and adult women.

To get in touch with Waje directly, email her on charles.iruobe@gmail.com
Connect with Waje on Twitter: @OfficialWaje

Charlize Theron: Academy award-winning South African born actress Charlize Theron tops our list for the African celebrities that give back to the less privileged societies in Africa. With her The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, Ms Theron directly supports young Africans in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Though the geographic scope of CTAOP is Sub-Saharan Africa, it has primarily focused its activities in her home country South Africa. CTAOP has directly collaborated with Oprah Winfrey’s Angel Network providing lead funding to Mpilonle, a community based South African non-profit that provides mobile health services to schools in the impoverished uMkhanayade district of Kwazulu Natal province.

For more on Charlize’s charity, visit: www.charlizeafricaoutreach.org
Connect with Charlize on Twitter: @CharlizeAfrica

Didier Drogba: The award-winning superstar footballer created the Didier Drogba Foundation in 2007. In 2013, The foundation distributed billboards and health materials across Africa in the lead up to and during the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. DDF has also been supporting the not for profit United Against Malaria [UAM] since 2012. He is a global superstar and one of Africa’s hottest soccer players who continues to support humanitarian activities across the world. I love you Didier!!

For more information on his NGO, visit: www.thedidierdrogbafoundation.com
Connect with Didier on Twitter: @didierdrogba

Liya Kebede: The ageless supermodel, entrepreneur and philanthropist launched the The Liya Kebede Foundation upon her appointment as a World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador in 2005. The LKF is a non-profit foundation that supports leading organizations working to reduce maternal and newborn deaths in Africa through advocacy, education, grantmaking and partnerships. LKF works actively with foundations such as the Born Free Africa, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a few others. Kebede specially uses her fashion credentials and influence to get fashion’s biggest players to support her cause. She has worked with famed jeweller David Yurman, super model Doutzen Kroes and many others on her projects.

For more details on Liya’s foundation, visit: www.lkfound.org
Connect with Liya on Twitter: @liyakebede

Asa: The Dreamer Girl is a pet project of Bukola Elemide AKA Asa which focuses on enhancing literacy in primary schools across Nigeria. The Dreamer Girl project builds libraries across primary schools in Nigeria and organises reading and literacy classes with organisations for the pupils. Dreamer Girl in 2013 successfully completed its first library at the Progressive High School in Surulere, Lagos with other Nigerian celebrities and the Ovie Brume Foundation.