The commendable work of Shakira’s Barefoot Foundation

Shakira’s Barefoot Foundation is an organization dedicated to building schools in vulnerable areas of Colombia.

Singer Shakira, beyond her talent, leads one of the most admirable foundations in her country.

The Shakira Barefoot Foundation was created by the artist Shakira in 1997, with a focus on supporting education in Colombia for over 17 years.

Its aim is to address the challenges of educational infrastructure quality, teaching, and innovation processes faced by education in Colombia and Latin America.

“Throughout my life, I’ve seen how education works miracles. I’ve seen lives and even entire communities transformed.

And believe me, seeing a child who had no chance of success overcome the odds and achieve equal opportunities in adulthood is such a satisfying feeling that it even surpasses winning a Grammy,” reads a statement signed by Shakira on the Pies Descalzos website.

Investing in Education: Shakira’s Barefoot Foundation

In September 2022, they inaugurated a school in the deprived region of La Guajira, Colombia.

The space is designed to provide appropriate learning environments for 200 primary school students.

To increase educational coverage in rural areas of Colombia, the Barefoot Foundation of Colombia founded the educational farm Kanewuakat, an educational space that will impact 200 students from the Wayúu community in the Manaure savannah.

Kanewuakat is one of the branches of the Caracas Ruleya ethno-educational center, located in the municipality of Manaure, and it includes the adaptation of educational spaces such as classrooms, a dining area, a kitchen, and sanitary facilities.

Furthermore, Shakira’s Barefoot Foundation, on September 16, inaugurated another school in Barranquilla, valued at four million dollars. The school was inaugurated in her hometown of Barranquilla.

The foundation’s primary focus is on aid through education, and the organization operates five schools throughout Colombia that provide education and meals to 4,000 children.

On April 27, 2014, Shakira was honored with the Hero Award at the Radio Music Awards for her work with the Barefoot Foundation.

The foundation’s initial projects were in Barranquilla, where it built two new schools, the Las Américas School and the Siete de Abril School.

These schools brought positive changes to two neighborhoods that had been affected by displacement, homelessness, and poverty. The two Barefoot Foundation schools provided services to 990 children.

Support for the foundation comes from Shakira’s contributions and donations from national and international companies that are committed to social responsibility.

Additionally, it has various inclusion programs in several Colombian cities aimed at reducing school dropout rates.

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