Priyanka Chopra

After making heads turn with her debut appearance at the Cannes Film Festival 2019, Priyanka Chopra Jonas headed to Ethiopia for philanthropic work as UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador.

The actress visited a primary school in Addis Ababa and spent some quality time with the students. Priyanka shared a video, in which she is seen asking the kids if they like going to school and everybody replies in the affirmative. Along with the video she wrote, “My first visit was to the Sibiste Negasi Primary School in Addis Ababa. In Ethiopia, primary school enrollment between 2000 and 2017 has TRIPLED. This is because of the Ethiopian government’s investment in education and its dedication to the future of the country...but there is still so much work to do. 2.6 M children of primary and secondary school age are out of school, and 50% of children attending school drop out by grade 8. Because of poverty children are responsible for much more than just learning, like caring for siblings, walking miles to collect water and other house hold chores...things that should not be a child’s responsibility at any age. A child is a child. @unicef’s efforts, along with a very committed government, are focused on getting every child in school, ensuring every child has a quality education, and that every child completes school. Thank you Principal Abebech, Dagmawit (7th grade), and all the other students who made my first day in ethopia so special."

She also shared a picture with Sahle-Work Zewde, the first female President of Ethiopia. She captioned the image, “This afternoon I had the honor of meeting Madam President Sahle-Work Zewde, the first female president of Ethiopia. Her fierce commitment to the empowerment and advancement of women is unprecedented. She also has a global perspective for the development of her country - Ethiopia is the second largest host country of refugees in Africa, they’ve taken in just under 1M. She’s pushing for policies that provide people with access to education and other essential needs so they can improve their familial economic situation and hence the economy of Ethiopia. I’m so inspired.”

Priyanka will be next seen in The Sky Is Pink.