“I firmly believe that education is the cornerstone of a dignified future for Haiti,” stated the Grammy Award-winning Colombian pop star, Shakira. Reports from the media indicate that Shakira will be donating $400,000 towards the construction of a school for girls in Haiti, a country devastated by a recent earthquake. The announcement came during her visit to Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, where she engaged joyfully with students at the Eli Diboa public school, singing and dancing alongside them.

The school, originally built in 1913, is set to undergo reconstruction starting in two months, with an estimated completion time of 14 months. Haiti suffered a catastrophic earthquake on January 12, resulting in the loss of 300,000 lives and extensive damage to countless homes and buildings.