Shakira visits quake-ravaged Haiti for school plans

LONDON - Pop star Shakira paid a visit to quake-hit Haiti while preparing her plans to develop a school in the devastated nation.

The 33-year-old singer met around a hundred youngsters who were left homeless after the massive quake and have been forced to live in tents in the capital city of Port-au-Prince.

Shortly after the disaster, the singer announced plans to team her Barefoot Foundation and the Architecture for Humanity charity to build a school in the region, which she hopes will mirror the success of an education facility she launched in her native Colombia.

The institute will provide teaching, nutrition and counselling for kids in need.

“We’ve come to make all the preparations to be able to start the building of a Barefoot school here in Haiti. We think we can employ what we’ve learned (in Colombia) here, apply it in this country which needs it so much at the moment,” aceshowbiz.com quoted her as saying.

“We need to think about the future of this country and of how Haiti’s children can be useful to their societies tomorrow… Education is one of the fundamental tools with which to develop and rebuild Haiti,” she added.

The earthquake in January killed over 300,000 people and left more than a million homeless.