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Tererai says her strength came from her belief that she really could make her dreams come true. "My mother had been married when she was young, and she had looked into my eye and said, 'If you truly believe in what this woman [from Heifer International] told you, then you can achieve your dream ... I want you to be the first person in this household to break this vicious cycle of poverty. You're not only defining yourself, but you are also defining generations that are coming from your womb,'" Tererai says. "So I knew I had a burden to carry. I knew that my mother was handing me an inheritance."

When she left her village to fulfill her dreams, Tererai says everyone was happy for her—they even helped pay for her flight to America by selling goats, corn and chickens. Today, Tererai wants to give back to her village and is trying to build a school so that future generations don't have to go through the same thing she did.

Help support the rebuilding of the school in Tererai's village by purchasing one of her T-shirts at Savethechildren.org.

Oprah says she has been so moved by Tererai's story that she is donating $1.5 million to rebuild the primary school in her village with the help of Save the Children! "Since we all know education isn't just about bricks and motar, Save the Children will spend three years working with teachers, children and parents in the area to improve literacy and basic education," Oprah says. "So ultimately, 4,000 children will have a better education because of you, Dr. Trent!" 

Watch Tererai get the surprise of her life

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