He also encouraged her to start her own charity.
Prince’s ex-wife Manuela Testolini has detailed the icon’s secret charity work in a new interview with Rolling Stone.
Reports of Prince’s philanthropy have been popping up since the singer’s death last April, including his work in clean energy and helping kids learn to code. Testolini has revealed even more of Prince’s generosity and work to help others.
Testolini was married to prince from 2001-2006. They met in 2000 when she was working at a women’s shelter in Toronto that was in danger of closing. Prince’s budding charity Love 4 One Another was the first to respond in the shelter’s search for help, prompting Testolini to seek out working with their organization.
“They were doing projects ranging from building community gardens to helping domestic shelters,” she told Rolling Stone. “I wasn’t aware at the time, but when Prince would visit different cities for a concert, he would have work going on to complement the places he visited.”
Testolini now runs her own organization called In a Perfect World. The charity has built two school in Malawi in Prince’s name, the second of which started classes this week.
Find out more about Prince’s charity work here.
Read next: Prince’s music may be on Spotify and Apple Music soon
