Save the Children has announced a $1.5 million grant from the Oprah Winfrey Foundation to rebuild the Matau Primary School in Zimbabwe.

Announced on one of the final episodes of the Oprah Winfrey Show, the grant was awarded in honor of Winfrey's "favorite" guest, Tererai Trent, a woman from the village of Zvipani whose lifelong dream was to gain an education. Trent first appeared on Winfrey's show in 2009 and explained that she had received support from the people in her village to relocate to the United States in 1998, where she eventually earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural education and later a master's and doctorate degree. During her second appearance, Trent told Winfrey that she felt she had to give back to the village by improving educational opportunities for children.

The grant will be used to begin construction on new classrooms, latrines, a playground for preschoolers, a school administration building, and teachers' houses. Save the Children also will supply locally made desks, chairs, books, toys, and other learning materials for students and preschoolers. Through the project, Save the Children will work to improve learning for nearly four thousand children at Matau Primary School and in neighboring communities. In addition, the humanitarian organization will spend three years training teachers, carrying out a community-wide literacy program, and helping instructors plan and prepare activities for preschoolers to help them succeed.

"Tererai is an inspiration to all of us," said Save the Children president and CEO Charles MacCormack. "She is proof that you can come from a small village and still dream big because education has the power to transform lives. Save the Children is grateful to Oprah for this contribution, which will allow thousands of Zimbabwean children who aspire to be the next Tererai to learn, grow, and succeed in school and life."