Lawrence Francis O’Donnell, Jr. (born November 7, 1951) is an American political analyst, journalist, actor, producer, writer, and host of The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, a Monday through Thursday evening MSNBC opinion and news program. O’Donnell called himself a “practical European socialist” in a Newsmaker Interview dated November 11, 2005.
In December of 2012, Lawrence O’Donnell announced the exciting news that through the K.I.N.D. fund, scholarships to Malawian school girls, particularly from rural regions, would be granted to cover four years of secondary education. One donation of $177 would cover one year of a girl’s education which includes tuition, room and board, books, transportation, a school uniform, and school supplies.
When Lawrence O’Donnell visited Malawi to see whose lives his charitable deeds would be affecting he contacted our own Raphael Tenthani to accompany him to rural Malawi. Not one to seek publicity Lawrence asked Raphael Tenthani of the MaraviPost not to make the trip public.
“The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” is kicked off #GivingTuesday on MSNBC this year with an update on the K.I.N.D. (Kids in Need of Desks) fund, an organization he launched five years ago with UNICEF to build school desks for the children of Malawi.
The K.I.N.D. fund, the official cause of “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,” has raised a total of $7,616,765 so far and has provided Malawi school children with the most essential building block of education: a place to sit and learn. Due to your overwhelming generosity, we have raised $6,660,679 for desks.
According to UNICEF, the K.I.N.D. fund has been making significant progress in Malawi. Two out of five students now have a desk or chair at their Malawi school. The number was originally only one out of five students before the fund’s launch.
So far, the K.I.N.D. fund has raised a total of $956,086 for scholarships. Currently, 100 girls have been provided with four year secondary school scholarships, and another 900 are expected to be provided with four year scholarships beginning in January 2015.
To contribute to the K.I.N.D Fund, visit LastWordDesks.msnbc.com or call 1-800-4-UNICEF.
