Cause Celebre: Shakira Supports RTL Donations Marathon

Her fans know and love her as an absolute fireball of energy and a shining star on stage. Her dancing is legendary, her voice unique. Shakira has been signed with Sony BMG ever since her 1991 debut album "Magia" and has been a top act in the music business for years. But there is another Shakira as well, beyond the glitz and glamour of show biz. The 29-year-old singer has been helping children in need ever since 1997, when she established the "Fondación Pies Descalzos" (Barefoot Foundation). And this year, she’s joining this year’s RTL Donations Marathon to raise money for the construction of an elementary school in Baranquilla, her hometown in Colombia. 

Baranquilla is where the multiple Grammy award winner, whose "real" name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, was born and raised. She recently returned accompanied by an RTL team headed by presenter Wolfram Kons, visited some of the socially weak neighborhoods and spoke to the locals. Now as in the past, there is one enormous problem in this part of the country: too few schools and too many children who have to work hard to survive instead of going to school. No education means no prospects of a good job – which for most people eventually translates to a life on the streets. Shakira is joining RTL in making a small contribution to improving the situation.

With its over two million inhabitants, Baranquilla is one of Colombia’s key commercial centers. But as in other parts of the South American continent, a great many people here are poverty-stricken. "Unfortunately, child labor is quite common in Colombia, Baranquilla is just one place among many. We want to build a school there with the help of Shakira and our viewers. Education is the only way to have a chance to escape poverty later on in life," says Kons, who is also the RTL Donations Marathon project manager. "It was impressive to watch superstar Shakira talking and playing with the children in the slums of Colombia. This is one superstar with a very big heart!"

One of six RTL Donations Marathons projects is the construction of a 16-classroom elementary school in Shakira’s hometown, sponsored by the superstar herself. Some 400 children will attend school here in the future to get a chance at a better future. Shakira’s project received its first major donation on May 6, when the proceeds of Motorsport’s Traveling Charity Gala at Nürburgring on the occasion of the "Grand Prix of Europe" were earmarked for the RTL Donations Marathons. 

In the more than ten years since it made its debut, the RTL Donations Marathon – the largest and above all longest (24 hours each time) charity event on German television– has raised roughly €51.4 million in donations, enabling it to financially support more than 60 children’s aid projects. This makes the donations marathon the most successful charity drive on commercial television. It has won accolades including UNESCO awards and the German Order of Merit. This year’s RTL Donations Marathon will be aired on Nov 23 and 24.