You know,mg, that was the thought that kept recurring to me. Out of the several thousand that were sponsored, only 400 plus were screened and of those only 152 were accepted into the school.

Granted that the aim of the program is to find and educate the brightest, with the highest grades and demonstrated skills and able to articulate goals, in other words, most likely to make a difference in the future of South Africa, it still seems that those left behind were dropped into a hopeless pit. But maybe not. Maybe those children, now that they have been identified, will also be given hope...

And Oprah mentioned several times that these were the "first class" at the school. If a child brings up her grades, maybe in another year she too will be accepted.

But all in all, the atmosphere of the school where they will be living and learning is brimful of hope and the children themselves are magnificent, just awesome.