Keri Hilson shows some love for young girls at Oprah School

American R&B singer Keri Hilson visited the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls yesterday to join its Give campaign.

The girls of the school - who have dedicated a combined 8000 hours to community service since the launch of the campaign on Thursday - invited Hilson to entertain 100 disadvantaged children from 30 schools in Gauteng.

The singer, in South Africa on a concert tour, performed her hits Knock You Down and Slow Down to some of her biggest fans.

She took part in a "motivation" class led by academy pupils and shared a story of peer pressure she had experienced.

Hilson told the girls: "I am amazed at how profoundly you guys are speaking about leadership and peer pressure. It is true what you guys are saying about leaders - there are some negative and positive leaders in the world and they can help or break our communities.

"I have a philosophy that I think you ladies can carry in life - that there are people who will be assets and others who will be liabilities in your life."

Classes at the academy have been suspended for the six days of the campaign.

The girls have taken 50 disadvantaged children to the Kaizer Chiefs Village, south of Johannesburg, to watch the players train. They have painted a mural at a senior citizens' home and the school choir entertained the elderly residents.

Yesterday, the pupils invited girls from poor backgrounds to chat about issues such as sex education, HIV-Aids and decision making.

Academy dean Funa Maduka told The Timesthat community work had always been a priority for Winfrey, who wanted the ethos instilled in pupils at her academy.

"The school has decided to take part in giving back to communities. There is no school for six days, so girls take part in community work fully," Maduka said.

The pupils wore blue T-shirts bearing the school's OWLAG acronym and a quote from Martin Luther King Jnr, "Everybody can be great because anybody can serve."

They had the opportunity to chat to Hilson, who revealed that she had also visited a gene-testing centre that Winfrey had visited in the past in a bid to establish her African heritage.- TimesLive