Shakira has 2 children and for many years she’s been advocating for children’s issues here in the U.S. and in Colombia with her Pies Descalzos Foundation. She’s helped improve public education, improve the nutrition of children, and much more. Shakira received a humanitarian award at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this past week for her many years of working on issues that affect the lives of children.
The singer accepted the Crystal Award from Chairperson of the Schwab Foundation Hilde Schwab. “We should be devastated, that in 2017, there are still 250 million kids under 5 who are still at risk, who will likely be stunted physically and intellectually,” she said. She added that there shouldn’t be any reason why nearly the population of an entire country the size of the U.S. is in poverty.
“We need to apply the brains and strategies of business and the assets and human resources and talents of your companies to do social good and to solve social problems,” said Shakira. Just recently, it was announced that some of the richest people in the world account for 1% of the world’s wealth. “Today’s babies will drive tomorrow’s business. Their capacity to contribute will shape tomorrow’s societies, will solve tomorrow’s problems.”
In addition to this recognition, she’s also been the recipient of the Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF and a member of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for the Hispanic population.