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Photo http://www.fundacionpiesdescalzos.com/

The name of my foundation is Pies Descalzos, the Barefoot Foundation, and through this work I have witnessed the pain and neglect many children endure who live in intolerable conditions. That is why, since I learned about the projects established by Teaming, I knew I would support it.

For me the best gift is to know that Teaming is helping to spread the word about our work. It makes me feel as if a fairy godmother had touched me with her magic wand… and that’s Teaming: Real help that comes wrapped in magic.

The way I got to meet Jil Van Eyle also has a bit of magic in it, and you will read more about it in this book. But from my perspective, meeting the people who are involved in the project really just shows how, as more people are willing to pour their energies into helping others, we will sooner or later run into each other and expand the circle.

I began Pies Descalzos after my first international hit, when I was 18 years old. I have been singing and performing most of my life, but my goal has never been to be just an entertainer, or just an artist who is only concerned about success. My career as a singer and songwriter is important to me because of the happiness it brings to me and to others. I have done interviews with journalists about my music and my goals, and you can find many of them in You Tube, where you can hear me say this: I want to find happiness in my work.

Yet if you listen to the lyrics of my songs you can hear that they’re about a lot more than that. What I’m looking for is what we all want, work that is deeply rewarding, that has meaning as well as making people happy.

That is why I say in my website, that when you give the opportunity for a better life to a child at the right time, then the sky is the limit. Just like in Teaming, we’re looking for people to be involved brick by brick, in small ways that are accessible to everyone. Bricks are the building units of a school for children in Colombia, where they can learn about science, the arts, technology, math, Spanish and English, and of course, music.

I think that Teaming is an effective way to get people involved because it doesn’t stop at borders— Teaming is international. My own foundation came out of the love I have for the children in my country, who are displaced and homeless and have to struggle for a chance at education. But as time passed and my music took me all over the world, my work expanded to the children in Bangladesh, in Haiti, in Rajasthan, India, and later to Israeli and Palestinian children.

Things Come Full Circle

In 2003 I was named Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, which is a great honor and constantly renews my commitment to all children. During 2007, I went on a fundraising concert tour to benefit ALAS, the Latin American Solidarity Action Foundation, in Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, and New York. ALAS was founded in response to a social emergency, to aid the hundreds of thousands of children in Latin America who live on the streets, and who will die from totally preventable causes. For this reason, the work focuses on nutrition, shelter, and education. Again, in 2010 the UN recognized my contribution to charities, which is important for getting many more people involved. For me, it’s what I do that brings happiness every day.

When my work took me to Africa and to Europe, and in 2011 received the MTV Award for Humanitarian Work, another phase of my life began. The year before, in South Africa, I had filmed the video of my song, Waka Waka (Esto es África), which was chosen to be the official anthem of the Soccer World Championship. It was in Barcelona that, through an unexpected connection I met Jil and found out about Teaming. This is why I believe that things will come full circle, and that people who are working towards the same goals will eventually meet. I know there will be many points where, through the work of my foundation, we will meet the network of Teaming, in Latin America and all over the world.

Shakira

Barcelona, July 23, 2012