Meanwhile, the charity founded by the Colombian-born singer is preparing to open its sixth school to help impoverished children in her native Colombia.
Shakira launched the Pies Descalzos Foundation in 1995, to build educational facilities for poor kids across the country. And the charity, funded by Shakira and other international groups and individuals, is booming.
“We are going to open our sixth school,” she says. “Six thousand kids we provide an education and nutrition for, in areas that have been devastated by extreme poverty. Colombia is the second country with the largest amount of displaced people in. We don’t have refugee camps but millions of people lost everything they had and kids don’t have access to an education. From the moment I had my first international success at 18 I decided to establish this foundation. It’s taught me a lot and fascinates me - you see first hand how education is such a powerful tool.”
