Ja Rule is in Ghana to oversee the construction of a new classroom block in the country’s eastern region.
On Wednesday (April 10), the rapper broke ground at the site at Nuaso Anglican Primary School where the facility is being constructed. Ja Rule teamed up with charity Pencils of Promise to build a six-classroom unit at the school.
Ja Rule said the project was a way to give back after the education charity honored him with the Audacious Award at their gala last year.
“I’m proud of that,” he said in a speech during the groundbreaking ceremony. “I’m proud to be out here and have the audacity to come here and build a school in the middle of Africa for my people.
I know that this is going to be an opportunity that will last for many, many years to come. This is just the beginning of something very special.”
Ja Rule praised the students who recited “amazing, amazing” poems at the event before affirming his commitment to the project.
“Education is the pillar of any community,” he added. “I will be back when the school opens up to come and speak and greet all the kids. We gon’ do this real big and we gon’ continue to do this with Pencils of Promise.”
Earlier this week, Ja Rule shared a photo of himself alongside a quote from the revolutionary former president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. “I am not African because I was born in Africa, but because Africa was born in me,” the unifying quote reads.
Ja Rule also performed a show in Ghana, where he ran into comedian Michael Blackson.