The Weeknd donates $50,000 to the University of Toronto to help start an Ethiopic Studies program

(Kevin Winter/Getty)

The Weeknd has donated $50,000 to the University of Toronto to help jump start an Ethiopic Studies program at the college.

After the Bikila Award organization honored him with the Professional Excellence Award in 2014, the non-profit asked the Grammy Award-winning Ethiopian-Canadian artist if he would contribute to the fund. The Weeknd, whose government name is Abęl Tesfaye, made his donation toward a course on the Ge’ez, the classical language of Ethiopia.

Tesfaye said on Saturday that he was proud to support his hometown by sharing the brilliant, ancient history of Ethiopia.

“It’s unbelievable,” Tam Gebeyehu, a Bikila Award board member, recently told the Toronto Star. “He grew up in Toronto as an Ethiopian-Canadian, and now he’s giving back to the community.”

More than $170,000 has been raised for the Ge’ez course and will launch this year, The Star reports.

“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,” Tessema Mulugeta, president of the Bikila Award, told the outlet.