BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Colombian superstar Shakira committed Monday to help build at least 10 new schools in a remote and hard-hit region of her home country after it suffered a devastating earthquake last week that killed hundreds and affected thousands of educational sites across western Colombia.
The globally recognized “Hips Don’t Lie” musician made the pledge during a surprise visit to Quibdó, the capital of the Colombian province of Chocó, where she toured damaged schools, hugging students and taking photos with them.
“What worries me the most is that schools are not rebuilt once this emergency is over,” Shakira told journalists. “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 longtime donor to Colombia who has helped Shakira set up schools there before. The Howard G. Buffett foundation will collaborate with Shakira’s Fundación Pies Descalzos, or Barefoot Foundation, on the project.
“When she calls, I come,” Buffett said during the visit. The singer also announced pledges of $500,000 each from Global Citizen and Live Nation toward the cause.
The 7.4 magnitude quake on Aug. 10 struck a vast swath of western Colombia, killing at least 287 people and destroying more than 26,000 dwellings, according to authorities. The government has said 194 people are missing, while other civilian-run databases put the number at more than 4,100.
The epicenter was in Chocó, one of Colombia’s poorest regions and where at least 3,100 homes were destroyed and over 265 educational sites affected, according to the regional government latest report Monday.
“It’s a place I love, a place where I’ve seen our students grow in our classrooms,” Shakira said in a video posted on X by the Colombian news outlet La FM. Her foundation, which focuses on educational access for youth in Colombia, has been in Chocó for 22 years, running two schools from which hundreds of students have graduated, she said. “I really want to see it rebuild again.”
Aid groups have struggled to assess the damage so far in Chocó, an area the size of Switzerland where communication is difficult. The province has few roads linking it to the rest of the country, and its numerous towns and villages are connected mostly by rivers and unpaved roads.
Most of Chocó’s 600,000 inhabitants live in poverty, according to figures published last year by Colombia’s national government, and it is largely inhabited by Indigenous tribes and Afro Colombian communities.
“There is not a way to alleviate the pain of so many, there are no magic solutions,” Shakira said during her visit to a large high school in Quibdó.
“But what there is, is commitment to be here alongside those from Chocó, to not abandon El Chocó like it historically has been abandoned, until every Colombian and every person from Chocó can return to their normal lives like they deserve and all the children can return to their schools and dream of the futures they deserve,” she said.
The Grammy award winner known for hits like “Whenever, Wherever,” “La Tortura,” and the 2026 FIFA World Cup anthem “Dai Dai” is a longtime supporter of education-related causes. She told reporters Monday she planned to dedicate all her “personal efforts” to rebuilding a local technological university in Chocó.
Shakira, 49, attracts massive attention to both her performances and causes: She headlined the halftime show of the 2026 FIFA World Cup final match in July and performed in May on Brazil’s Copacabana Beach to a crowd of 2 million people.
After Venezuela’s twin earthquakes in June, Shakira announced the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund would commit $500,000 to education recovery there.
Her announcement Monday is the latest of many commitments from prominent Colombians and other Latin American artists to help Colombia and Venezuela. On Sunday, Marc Anthony and Chayanne joined dozens of other artists at a Miami benefit concert and live fundraiser for both countries’ earthquake relief.
Colombian singer Karol G pledged to match fan donations to her Con Cora Foundation during her three-night run at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles last weekend. She will also join Maluma, Sebastián Yatra and others at a benefit concert in Bogotá this Sunday.
The Colombian Football Federation and South American Football Confederation made a joint commitment last week of $1 million to Colombian First Lady Ana Lucía Pineda’s “Colombia, one heart” recovery fund.
___
This story has been updated to correct that Shakira committed to help build 10 new schools, not rebuild 10 schools.
___
Gabriela Aoun Angueira reported from San Diego.
___
Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.