Clara Lionel Foundation
The Clara Lionel Foundation (also known as CLF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2012 by singer Rihanna, that funds groundbreaking education and emergency preparedness and response programs around the world.[1][2][3]
Founded
2012
To improve the quality of life for communities globally in the areas of health, education, arts and culture.
Name[edit]
Rihanna founded the Clara Lionel Foundation in 2012, in honor of her grandparents, Clara and Lionel Braithwaite. Programs include the Clara Braithwaite Center for Oncology and Nuclear Medicine at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados, and education programs.[5][6] The foundation was set up in order to reach "across borders to fight together for basic rights to education and health." Today, the foundation supports and funds innovative and effective education and emergency response programs around the world, aiming to improve the quality of life for young people everywhere.[7]
Activities[edit]
Emergency preparedness and climate resilience[edit]
One of the core pillars of the Clara Lionel Foundation's work is to transform the way the world responds to natural disasters. Through its work supporting relief efforts for hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, which together caused $380 billion in damages and killed thousands of people, as well as Cyclone Idai in East Africa, CLF saw the challenges with traditional current disaster response systems work. "In 2018, the foundation decided to begin testing a different approach, focused on proactively making buildings, infrastructure, and social systems stronger so that they would be most likely to survive future storms, preventing damage rather than repeatedly rebuilding. In a first pilot, the foundation is working with International Planned Parenthood Federation and Engineers Without Borders to make reproductive health clinics in the Caribbean more resilient to disasters."[8]
On September 19, 2019, in response to Hurricane Dorian, one of the strongest Atlantic storms in history, CLF announced a $1 million funding package to be distributed to Airlink, All Hands and Hearts, Direct Relief, the Information Technology Disaster Resource Center, Team Rubicon and World Central Kitchen.[9]
Awards[edit]
In February 2017, Rihanna was named Harvard University's "Humanitarian of the Year" by the Harvard Foundation.[28]