Liz Kazungu Goes "Down Under" with Oprah!

by Liz Kazungu

I have been an Oprah fan and avid watcher of the show since the age of seven and so when I was contacted by Harpo Studios and informed that I was one of her “ultimate viewers,” I was beside myself. The process of choosing the 302 viewers who went to Australia with Oprah was not easy. Folks heard rumors that the call for “ultimate viewers” pulled in close to 85,000 responses! While in Australia, Oprah shared that she felt that the chosen 302 were not of her doing but of the divine.  My story, like so many others on the trip, was a life story of hard work, persistence, and sacrifice.  Many of the “ultimate viewers,” like me, felt so very blessed to receive this opportunity.

We had a blast in Australia last December! We were split up into groups after being given a questionnaire about our interests and we were then each taken to a different part of Australia to experience the rich culture of the people. My group was taken to Byron Bay on the gulf coast of Australia. We were each given individual condos for the four days we were there. We also had a chance to visit Olivia Newton John at one of her nature resorts called Gaia. The highlight for me was when we visited a spiritual resort called Crystal Castle. It was really breathtaking and we had the opportunity to be blessed by Buddhist monks.

I will never forget the trip. Oprah was so gracious and she is everything I ever heard about and more. When I had a chance to talk to her, I personally thanked her for building the school in South Africa. As an African woman from Kenya, I was deeply touched by her endeavor to change the lives of these African girls who desperately need it.

I am already giving back in my own way. I started a mini foundation called “Spread the Love” in honor of Oprah’s words to us when she visited us at the airport to say goodbye on our way back to the US. The “Spread the Love” foundation is going to bring a very special Christmas to my small village of Gotani in Kilifi district of Kenya like none seen ever before. The plan is to make sure that each girl that I inspire at the village gets an assured education up to the 8^th grade--a gift that will save the lives of these young girls who would otherwise not get a chance to break the cycle of poverty that they live in. So far we have been able to fully sponsor 17 children.

I will never forget the trip to Australia. It was great to travel with the other “ultimate viewers” who are educators and who also work with students every day. In my role as an advisor, I see my office as my talk show, a place where I meet one-on-one with parents and students and hope at the end of the session to transform their lives in some way. If nothing else, I make sure they get a chance to view an issue differently, design a path for their lives, and grow to become the person they have always aspired to be, eventually becoming a successful Gator and a force in their families and communities.

Editor’s Note:  "Oprah" magazine will be featuring Liz in their June edition, which should hit the newsstands very soon!  Also, if you’d like to help Liz and Oprah “Spread the Love” see the STL FB page.  Liz says it only costs $60 to support a child's education.  How cool would it be if the UAC sponsored a child?!?