Shakira Announces Alliance to Fund Education for Poor Kids
Another day, another charity Shakira is personally involved in. She won't stop!
Quote:
Colombian superstar Shakira, who has sold over 60 million albums world-wide announced on the eve of the Americas Summit her alliance of foundations to fund quality education for low-income children.
The alliance, which will invest $24 million during the first two years, comprises the superstar's Pies Descalzos foundation, the Colombian Culture Ministry and several other NGOs.
"It's an alliance specifically for the construction of 13 early-education centers that will benefit 6,200 kids with quality teaching," Shakira said at an event in Cartagena's Bicentenario neighborhood.
The artist, a native of the nearby city of Barranquilla, stressed the importance of the alliance, which is already instructing children under six, "the most important years in human life, the ones that most shape their future," she said. The famous international singer stress, "I won't give up on these children."
At that age "the child's brain, cognitive and motor faculties and the ability to form relationships with others begin to develop, so we're convinced that we have to invest in them, the earlier the better," Shakira said.
The 13 educational centers will be built in the Colombian provinces of Bolívar, Cundinamarca, Magdalena, Atlantico and Choctó, all with high rates of extreme poverty.
Shakira planned to present the joint projects on Friday to an audience of executives and politicians at the Business Forum leading up to this weekend's gathering of heads of state in Cartagena.
Shakira To Meet With President Obama And Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos At The Summit Of The Americas
Quote:
President Barack Obama is heading to Cartagena, Colombia to meet with 33 presidents and heads of state in the Summit of the Americas. And one important attendee is Colombian pop-star and philanthropist Shakira, who will take part of the summit to continue her activism work on behalf of disadvantaged children.
On Friday afternoon she will join the Conference with Americas Business Trust to help promote early childhood development policies in the private sector. In this conference she will join Guatemalan president Otto Pérez Molina, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Costa Rica's current and first female president Laura Chinchilla, Chilean business man Sebastián Piñera and Prime minister of Jamaica Portia Simpson-Miller and Trinidad and Tobago premier Kamla Persad Bissessar.
On Saturday afternoon, she is scheduled to sing Colombia's national anthem at the opening ceremony in Cartagena.
And finally, on Sunday, Shakira will be meeting with President Obama and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to discuss with both presidents a plan to continue advancing children's education through her foundation Fundación Pies Descalzos (Barefoot Foundation), which works with impoverished children. The foundation currently has five schools in different regions of Colombia and provides education and psychological support for more than 4,000 children.
Last year, Shakira was appointed to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.
The singer has been a longtime Obama supporter. Shakira endorsed him during the 2008 election and even performed at his inauguration.
An Interview with Shakira: Global Advocate for Early Childhood Development and Education
Quote:
In advance of the Sixth Summit of the Americas to be held this weekend in Cartagena, Colombia, I interviewed international recording artist and philanthropist Shakira, who is a leading champion for early childhood development and universal education. In addition to serving as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Shakira is founder of the Barefoot Foundation and ALAS. A native of Barranquilla, Colombia, Shakira sold over 60 million albums worldwide.
ALAS is a non-profit organization founded on December 12, 2006 in Panama City. ALAS is a group of Latin American leaders who work together to ensure that children from 0-6 years of age reach their full potential. The aim is to promote integrated educational programs and quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) to generate changes in public policies.
Rahim Kanani: Tell me a little bit about the founding of Fundación ALAS back in December 2006. How did it come about, and how did you get involved?
Shakira: The Alas Foundation was born as a consequence and a continuation of what we are doing with Pies Descalzos. I started the Pies Descalzos foundation in Colombia when I was 18 and since then I have been very involved in the crusade for education. As we had been very successful with Pies Descalzos during all these years working for underprivileged children and families building schools and community centers we decided to form ALAS back in 2006 to raise awareness on the importance of investing in early childhood development.
Alas specifically focuses on promoting Early Childhood Development’s strategies creating plans and commitments from private companies and governments.
Rahim Kanani: As you survey the landscape of childhood education and development in Latin America, what are some of the key challenges we should be paying particular attention to?
Shakira: Over the past few years there’s been a lot of progress in Latin America in early childhood education. We’ve seen an increase in the number of programs directed at children between 0 and 6 years old but it is still not enough and 35 million children from lower income communities can’t access high quality early childhood education programs in the region today. So, the key challenge is to make sure that all kids have the opportunity to benefit from these programs in those first years, the most determinant of their lives as their brains and bodies are forming as well as all their cognitive, motor and social skills are developing.
We have to keep working to build more centers, to train more teachers, and to involve more parents in their children’s education. But we not only need more programs, we need better ones. We have to make sure that our children are getting the best possible education from the very start. We need to provide higher quality and innovative early childhood development programs all throughout Latin America.
Rahim Kanani: What are some of the educational programs and initiatives undertaken by Fundación ALAS to further these issues in the right direction?
Shakira: For the past few years we’ve been working alongside national and local governments as well as local private organizations in order to increase the number of programs available. We currently have programs in place in Colombia where this year we are building 13 new centers in conjunction with the local government, and in Mexico, starting with 3 this year for a total of 10. And in Argentina, we are making sure that the new centers being built are up to par and that the teachers receive the best training available.
We believe that by setting a good example in the kind of programs we implement and the good results that will follow, we will make excellence the standard of early childhood development programs in Latin America and inspire governments and generations to come.
Rahim Kanani: With the Sixth Summit of the Americas being held in Colombia this weekend, how will you spotlight childhood education and development as a critical issue for the region?
Shakira: The Summit of the Americas is an excellent platform to raise awareness and secure commitments from heads of state and different sector leaders regarding Early Childhood Development. In the past, we’ve always had a great response from all those involved.
This year, we are have set several goals for us. We intend that the participating heads of states to renew their commitment to make early childhood development a priority. We also aim to at getting the private sector involved in this cause. We believe that the future of our nations is such an important undertaking that it cannot be left in the hands of a few. Providing all Latin-American children with the education and early childhood development that they need is in the best interest of all so it has to be a priority for all of us, not only the government and civil society, but also the business sector.
Rahim Kanani: Recently, Fundación ALAS partnered with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to launch the ALAS-IDB Awards to recognize innovation, investments and excellence in programs that benefit children under 6 years of age in Latin America and the Caribbean. How did this partnership come about?
Shakira: This partnership came about through a shared vision for the future of Latin America. Both, the IDB and Fundación ALAS, believe that our region has shown great potential, not only for sustainable economic growth, but also for leadership in the international arena. We both believe that Latin America is going through a period of growth and stability, and that it is exactly in fair weathered times that we need to think about what we want our future to be and what we need to do to achieve it.
Both, the IDB and Fundación ALAS, believe that the future of prosperity and equality that we hope for, has to start today with higher investment and higher quality in Early Childhood Development programs throughout the region. We want to make sure that children today have all the tools they need to help us build that shared vision of a better future.
We know that there are organizations doing excellent work in early childhood all throughout Latin America, and we want to take this opportunity to give them the recognition they deserve and the encouragement they need to keep going. We want to let them know that their efforts have not gone unnoticed.
Our goal with these awards is to recognize what’s been accomplished and promote even further innovation, investment and excellence in early childhood development programs. And we really hope the Summit of the Americas is the perfect platform to raise awareness about this important issue.
Rahim Kanani: With more and more celebrities using their attention and influence to advocate for positive change, what kinds of leadership lessons have you learned with regard to moving the needle on important social issues?
Shakira: I believe that every single one of us, celebrity or not, has a responsibility to get involved in trying to make a difference in the world. Our generation faces many challenges, some of which were passed on to us by the past generations, but it’s up to us to find solutions today, so that we don’t keep passing our problems on. I think that the most important thing I’ve learned is that people don’t just believe in causes because someone tells them to; but the motivation and passion needs to reach them in order for them to react. And that is why I think that people have responded so well to both Pies Descalzos and ALAS. All of us involved are very passionate about education and Early Childhood Development. We are eager for a future without so much poverty and inequality, and we are fighting very hard to make it happen. That kind of determination and passion is what moves the needle on important social issues whether it comes from a celebrity or not.
I don't expect a lot of comments, since this is about philanthropy work. No scandals involved, no 99 cent album deal, or scantily-clad men included...
I don't buy these celebrities and their charities, sorry.
She has seven schools around the world and helps feed over 20,000 kids. 10,000 of them being in her schools. Are you gonna be ignorant about that fact too?
I don't buy these celebrities and their charities, sorry.
Well, I don't know if you can understand Spanish, but her speech was excellent, and you can tell how passionate she is about her philanthropic work. She talked about how her work meant as much to her as her music career, and that the SEVENTEEN years she's been doing this have been the best experiences of her life. She also said she doesn't dream of false hopes that she knows can't be accomplished. This really means a lot to her, and the amount of time and effort she puts in it really shows.
I don't buy these celebrities and their charities, sorry.
Ummm. Her charities are actually functional. She's had several schools up and running for YEARS. Like, thousands of living, real, actual kids attend her schools. Warren Buffett, Bill Clinton, and President Obama have visited her schools and have contributed to them.
It's not as if with the simply act of your disbelief her years of work and her actual schools cease to exist.
No one can hate this woman.
