Shakira and Howard Buffett pledge funds to rebuild schools after Colombia earthquake

Aid package and university restoration

Colombian singer Shakira committed an initial $1.25 million education recovery package during a visit to Quibdó on 17 August 2026, one week after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit western Colombia. Channeled through her Fundación Pies Descalzos, the funding combines $500,000 from Shakira and Live Nation, $500,000 from the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, and $250,000 from the CAF development bank. Shakira pledged personal resources to rebuild the damaged Universidad Tecnológica del Chocó and appealed to the governments of Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom for aid. Her pledge coincided with wider artist initiatives, including a Miami benefit concert by Marc Anthony and Chayanne, alongside donation matching from Karol G.

Philanthropic partnership with Howard Buffett

American philanthropist Howard Graham Buffett joined Shakira in Quibdó, announcing that the Howard G. Buffett Foundation will independently finance the construction of ten new schools across Chocó. The delegation inspected classrooms at the Colegio Tecnológico Industrial Carrasquilla, the department's largest educational institution, and met with Chocó Governor Nubia Carolina Córdoba-Curi and Quibdó Mayor Rafael Bolaños. Buffett was granted Colombian citizenship in 2021 after funding over $160 million in Catatumbo for road reconstruction, illicit crop substitution, and demining programs. His philanthropic cooperation with Shakira dates back to 2008, when they built educational centres in Barranquilla and Cartagena.

When she calls, I come.

Earthquake damage and regional vulnerability

The 10 August 2026 earthquake had its epicenter in Chocó, killing at least 13 people locally, destroying over 3,100 homes, and damaging more than 265 educational sites according to departmental reports. Nationwide across western Colombia, the disaster caused at least 287 deaths, destroyed more than 26,000 homes, and left 194 people officially missing, while civilian databases registered over 4,100 missing. Aid groups encountered severe difficulties assessing damage across Chocó, an isolated region the size of Switzerland where 600,000 residents rely primarily on rivers and unpaved roads. Shakira warned reporters that public assistance must continue beyond initial emergency relief.

What worries me the most is that schools are not rebuilt once this emergency is over. Every day that children don't go to school is a day they miss out on their future.

Two decades of foundation work in Quibdó

Fundación Pies Descalzos has operated in Chocó for 22 years, maintaining two regional schools that have graduated approximately 400 students, with 70% proceeding to higher education. In 2005, the foundation opened the María Berchmans branch of the Institución Educativa Antonio Ricaurte in Quibdó. Before the tremor, the organization was erecting a new 6,000-square-meter campus for 960 pupils, which had reached 90% completion. Shakira reaffirmed her long-term ties to the territory while greeting students and educators in damaged classrooms.

It's a place I love, a place where I've seen our students grow in our classrooms. I really want to see it rebuild again.