[Johanna Schoenfeld](/columnists/Johanna+Schoenfeld)  
2/5/2009

Singer gives charity to her Colombian hometown.

Now that's quite a gift: Songstress Shakira gave $6 million, dedicated to build a school, to the La Playa district of her Colombian home, Yahoo reports. It is the fifth school Shakira's foundation, "Pies Descalzos" (the "Barefoot Foundation"), has donated. The school will be 140,000 sq.-ft. and will cater to 1,800 students. Shakira said that her charitable work would help in "breaking the myth that quality education is the privilege of the few." As Shakira announced the dedication of the $6 million, she was accompanied by Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Velez, who awarded the singer a medal.  
  
Shakira has always been very committed to the cause of spreading education. As a teenager she used to teach reading at a parochial school. In 1995, at age 18, she founded her foundation, which promotes education in Colombia. According to the foundation's Web site, they "help children exercise their basic right to an education, thus paving the way for their growth in society."