Hollywood star Priyanka Chopra’s big Madiba lesson

08 May 2017 - 09:27 By Jessica Levitt
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Priyanka Chopra at a press conference in Rosebank
Priyanka Chopra at a press conference in Rosebank
Image: Alistair Russell

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra on Sunday concluded a four-day trip to Zimbabwe and South Africa where she met with victims of child abuse and sexual violence.

The Hollywood actress, who stars alongside local export Pearl Thusi in hit US show Quantico, has appealed to the media to highlight the plight of children in Africa.

“We need to care more. It is on us. It is not on their parents who don’t have the money to send them to school or give them food or may not be alive. It is on us, as a society, to reach out to make sure that they get a lot more than what they are getting,” she said at a press conference in Rosebank on Sunday.

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Chopra had just returned from visiting “safe parks” in Soweto, an initiative by UNICEF where children who have been victims of sexual, physical and mental abuse are given the opportunity to interact with councilors and other children.

Chopra on Saturday May 6 hosted a UNICEF gala dinner which raised R600,000 towards the organization’s work for children in South Africa.

Wearing bleached jeans, a black UNICEF t-shirt and black blazer, the former Miss World said she was raised in a home where giving back was an integral part of her childhood. Her parents, who were both doctors, would visit a small local village to provide treatment to locals who could not afford it or have access.

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Chopra shares a birthday with Nelson Mandela and says that Madiba has been influential in her life because of the man he was and what he stood for.

“Both these great men (Madiba and Mahatma Gandhi) stood for the rights of children. Both these great men talked about how children were the foundation of our society and our society will never get better if we ignore our children.”

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