The Weeknd donates $50,000 to Ethiopic Studies at University of Toronto

The Weeknd’s donation will go towards establishing a course on an ancient language known as Ethiopic.

R&B singer and Grammy Award winner The Weeknd has donated $50,000 to the University of Toronto to help establish an Ethiopic Studies program. The singer, real name Abel Tesfaye, is a first generation Ethiopian immigrant born and raised in the Scarborough district of Toronto.

According to the Toronto Star, Tesfaye, who never finished high school, was quick to respond to the call from the Bikila Awards organization. The Bikila Awards aims to foster excellence and promote volunteerism among Ethiopian-Canadians. Two years ago, they presented Tesfaye with its Professional Excellence Award.

Speaking to The Star, Tam Gebeyehu, board member of the Bikila Award, said “back then he was doing a lot of stuff, but was still a boy from Scarborough just rising to fame. His donation helps us preserve our culture and share it with everyone else.” Tessema Mulugeta, president of the Bikila Award, added “this initiative is a rare opportunity and of historical significance in the discovery of Ethiopia’s ancient civilizations, for the preservation of our rich culture, history and traditions.”

The Weeknd’s contribution pushes the organization’s fund raising to $170,000 to launch a course on the Ge’ez, an ancient script and language known as Ethiopic.

On Sunday morning, The Weeknd took to Twitter to announce his contribution and invite others to donate and support.

1 – sharing our brilliant and ancient history of Ethiopia. proud to support the studies in our homie town through @UofT and @bikilaaward

— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) August 6, 2016