Halle Berry received the Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA’s Kaleidoscope Award on Saturday, and during her acceptance speech at the Kaleidoscope Ball, she talked about how her young daughter, Nahla, inspires her own humanitarian efforts.
Berry, who stars in Extant, spoke about a recent trip to Nicaragua and how 7-year-old Nahla came back a changed person. “This year I went to Nicaragua and I took my now 7-year-old daughter Nahla with me,” said Berry. “And during that trip, what I realized as a parent, it’s my responsibility to teach children the importance of taking care of children.”
Berry noted that Nahla noticed the children were impoverished but was amazed that they were still happy, and it had a profound effect on her. “She started to think, ‘Well, I don’t need two bikes, do I? Wow, I don’t need 15 American Girl dolls, do I? No,’” said Berry.
Once they returned from their trip, Berry said, Nahla decided to donate her dolls and bikes to the children in Nicaragua. She even went one step further and has a bimonthly lemonade stand so she can raise money for the children.
“I’m so proud of her,” Berry said. “It’s important to teach your children about caring for children.”