Shakira takes action to help Colombia recover from devastating quake

Colombian music icon Shakira made a surprise visit to one of the hardest-hit regions of her home country, announcing several commitments to rebuild schools and a university there after a devastating earthquake struck Colombia last week.

The globally recognised singer toured damaged schools in Quibdó, the capital of the Colombian department of Chocó, where roughly 40 schools were completely destroyed and hundreds more were damaged, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Associated Press (AP).

“What worries me the most is that schools are not rebuilt once this emergency is over,” Shakira told journalists after meeting students, hugging them and taking photos with them. “Every day that children don’t go to school is a day they miss out on their future.”

She was accompanied by Howard Buffett, son of billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett and a longtime donor to Colombia who has previously helped Shakira establish schools in the country. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation will work with Shakira’s Fundación Pies Descalzos, or Barefoot Foundation, to rebuild 10 schools.

The singer also said she would devote her “personal efforts” to rebuilding a severely damaged technological university in Chocó. In addition, she announced pledges of $500,000 each from the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund and Live Nation, as well as $250,000 from the CAF Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, to rebuild schools and help children return to classrooms.

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on August 10. According to the latest figures, more than 300 people were killed, hundreds remain missing, and thousands were injured. In Chocó, thousands of homes were destroyed, and hundreds of educational institutions were damaged.

By Jeyhun Aghazada