Beyoncé to Donate $1 Million to Colombia Earthquake Relief Efforts

Beyoncé announced that she will make a personal donation of $1 million to support relief efforts in Colombia after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake devastated the Chocó region earlier this month.

The amount is earmarked to help provide food and housing supplies to the hardest hit areas affected by the earthquake, according to a press release from Parkwood Entertainment. The release prompted people looking for more ways to help to check out the websites for Food for the Poor and World Central Kitchen.

At least 312 people were killed and 29,000 homes destroyed by the Aug. 10 quake, The Associated Press reported, citing figures published by the central government. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that about 10 percent of Choco’s population — 69,000 people — were affected or displaced by the earthquake, per AP.

Last week, Shakira committed $1.25 million to help rebuild 10 schools and a university via her charitable foundation. The pledge brought together several partners: $500,000 from Shakira and Live Nation; $500,000 from the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund; and $250,000 from CAF, the development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. The funds are slated to be channeled through Shakira’s Fundación Pies Descalzos (Barefoot Foundation), and will go toward rebuilding schools and getting children back into classrooms.

“What worries me the most is that schools are not rebuilt once this emergency is over,” Shakira told journalists (via ABC). “Every day that children don’t go to school is a day they miss out on their future.”

She added, “It’s a place I love, a place where I’ve seen our students grow in our classrooms. I really want to see it rebuilt again.”