Rihanna receives Humanitarian of the Year award at Harvard University

The Harvard Cambridge Campus welcomed Rihanna with open arms as she accepted the Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award.

She accepted the award from Dr. S. Allen Counter, Director of the Harvard Foundation, today at Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

She was honoured for her work supporting education and health care in Caribbean and developing countries, particularly for building the state-of- the-art center for oncology and nuclear medicine to diagnose and treat breast cancer at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in her native Barbados.

In introducing her to the campus, Dr. Counter noted that Rihanna’s philanthropic journey began at age 18 with the Believe Foundation and continued as an Ambassador for UNICEF’s Tap Project and eventually her very own Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF), founded in 2012.

Stepping to the podium, a shy-looking Rihanna, who fidgeted nervously with her grey off-the-shoulder dress, coyly said, “So… I made it to Harvard. Never thought I’d be able to say that in my life! But it feels good!

She continued, “I’m incredibly humbled by this and to be acknowledged at this magnitude for something that in truth I’ve never wanted credit for.”

Rihanna recalled what inspired her to get involved in charity work, saying:

“We’re all human and we all just want a chance – a chance at life, a chance at an education, a chance at a future, really.

“At CLF our mission is to impact as many lives as possible, but it starts with just one, just one… All you need to do is help one person – expecting nothing in return. To me, that is a humanitarian…

“Today I want to challenge each of you to make a commitment to help one person, one organisation, one situation that touches your heart.”

And drawing on some of Granny’s wisdom – as all Caribbean people do – she concluded, “My grandmother always used to say, ‘If yuh got a dollar, there’s plenty to share’.”