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Colombian singer Shakira has pledged to help rebuild Choco Technology University and support the construction of 10 new schools in the region hit by Colombia's 7.4-magnitude earthquake on Aug. 10, as efforts turn toward restoring education after the disaster.
Shakira visited Quibdo, a city in the Choco administrative region near the earthquake's epicenter, together with American businessman and oldest son of world-renowned investor Warren Buffett, Howard Graham Buffett, whom she described as a close friend.
During the visit, Shakira said she would dedicate her personal efforts to rebuilding the Choco Technology University. Meanwhile, Buffett will work with her Barefoot Foundation (Pies Descalzos) to build 10 new schools across Choco.
Shakira stressed that children should not be kept away from education as the region works through the aftermath of the earthquake, warning that every day children remain outside school puts their future on hold.
She said one of her biggest concerns was that communities affected by the disaster could be forgotten once the emergency phase ends, leaving victims without long-term support and preventing children from returning to their classrooms.
Alongside the planned school projects, Shakira announced that Global Citizen would contribute $500,000 through her initiative, while concert promoter Live Nation would provide another $500,000, bringing the total funding secured for rebuilding schools destroyed in the earthquake to $1 million.
The Colombian singer also called on the governments of Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom, as well as private companies and foundations, to contribute to recovery efforts in Choco.
She emphasized that assistance should continue even after the immediate emergency response winds down, highlighting the need to keep supporting communities affected by the disaster.
During their visit, Shakira and Buffett toured areas damaged by the earthquake and stopped by the Carrasquilla Industrial Technology School, described as the largest school in the region. Shakira met children there as well as Choco Governor Nubia Carolina Cordoba-Curi.
Buffett has reportedly contributed more than $160 million to projects in Colombia since 2008, covering rural development, infrastructure, the replacement of illegal crops, mine clearance and education.
More than 300 people were killed in the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Colombia on Aug. 10.
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