There was a surprise appearance by the Barranquilla-born artist in her hometown and there were some very special moments.

Although she has not lived in Barranquilla for a long time and it is not common to see her in her country, on Saturday 16 September 2023 Shakira’s love for her city and the future of the children was once again on display. As has been the case with the singer for several years, with donations through her Barefoot Foundation, she once again contributed millions of dollars for the future of the children.

It was known that on the aforementioned day there would be the presentation of the ‘Institucion Educativa Distrital Nuevo Bosque Pies Descalzos’, financed by the Mayor’s Office of Barranquilla, the artist’s foundation, the La Caixa Foundation, the Barcelona Foundation and the LCI Educational Foundation. But few imagined that ‘Shak’ herself would arrive, accompanied by her sons Milan and Sasha Piqué.

As soon as it was heard that the recent winner of the ‘Michael Jackson, Video Vanguard Award 2023’ was on site, there was great joy among those present. She was also happy, gave statements to the media and experienced special moments with those who wanted to pay tribute to her and thank her for helping a community affected by economic and social problems.

How much was Shakira’s million-dollar gift to the children of Barranquilla?

There are already several schools funded by the Pies Descalzos Foundation, with which Shakira has contributed a lot to different areas and regions of her native Colombia. And this time the school had an investment of more than 16,000 million Colombian pesos (more than four million dollars or almost three million 900,000 euros). Of this money, the singer’s foundation’s contribution is 57,000 million pesos (almost one and a half million dollars or more than one million 300,000 dollars).

The school facilities have 22 regular classrooms, four pre-school classrooms, a couple of laboratories, art rooms, a library, dining room, kitchen, sports fields and other common spaces for the young people of this community. And in part of the speech, the star referred to this great initiative:

Although many believe that it is a normal work, taking into account the great needs and crises that exist in sectors of Colombia, Shakira was very clear when talking about these developments.

“Every time a school is built, a center is built for the community, the whole community is transformed”. And she recalled that this infrastructure helps the population to grow, that the services and resources around the institution also begin to develop and change the depressed sectors.

But like this contribution, Shakira wants to continue making them and that many people join her. She expressed this and called for more people to contribute to the development of villages and communities in difficult conditions.

“We have to continue working, building more schools. In Quibdo, Barranquilla, Tibu, in La Guajira. We invite the government and the private sector to join in, join in and continue donating.

Shakira talked about her personal life and the changes of the last year

For many it was striking to see the Barcelona Foundation supporting this event, as so much has been said since Shakira and Pique’s separation in 2022, but it is clear that social work is alien to these kinds of issues, rumors and speculation about the singer’s past.

And she, with a lot of personality and calm, spoke about what has happened in recent months in her personal situation.

“Life is a constant addition and subtraction, people leave your life, but new spaces open up, maybe new energies, those who have to stay and from there you add up…. This last year has been very hard for me: personally, and professionally. Life has kind of compensated me and my fans have taken care of that.”

At the same event, Milan and Sasha Pique appeared on one of the sports fields of the Nuevo Bosque Pies Descalzos District Educational Institution, where the artist from Barranquilla arrived to share with them and kick the ball a few times. This confirms that she wants to move forward and that is what she said in another of her answers to journalists:

The scene of Shakira’s surprise arrival, the gesture of her foundation, the mayor’s office of Barranquilla and the other international foundations, the tokens of affection for the great artist and her words, show the example and importance of a figure like ‘Shak’ for Colombia.