Juan Manuel Santos

Lore & Background

Pies Descalzos was born from Shakira's own memory of growing up in Barranquilla and traveling through rural Colombia, where she saw children walking long distances to attend under-resourced schools. The foundation's name evokes that image: kids with no shoes, but with the determination to show up and learn. Rather than building a single flagship campus, the initiative has worked to support existing public schools in underserved regions, improving conditions so that a child's socioeconomic background does not determine whether they finish their education.

During the Santos years, Colombia was simultaneously negotiating its way out of a half-century of internal conflict and trying to close the educational gap that armed violence had widened in rural and peri-urban communities. Shakira's work sat within that larger national project without being a state program; it was a private, celebrity-driven effort that nonetheless touched the same communities the government's post-peace development plans aimed to reach. The two tracks—diplomatic and civic—ran in parallel, each reinforcing the idea that a peaceful Colombia also needed an educated one.

Shakira has spoken publicly about how education was the single most important tool for breaking cycles of poverty, and she has used her concerts, interviews, and social platforms to keep the foundation visible. The Santos administration, for its part, expanded rural education budgets and teacher-training programs in the post-peace period. Neither effort existed in a vacuum; together they painted a picture of a country that wanted its children to have a future worth planning for.

In Their Own Story

The bus from the nearest town arrived an hour late, as it often did. In the courtyard of a small school in the Andean foothills, a girl of nine sat on a concrete step, her bare feet tucked beneath her, a worn notebook open in her lap. The blackboard behind her still bore the chalk dust of yesterday's lesson. A teacher, tired but patient, was setting out a new stack of workbooks—donated, the label said, through a foundation whose name she had heard on the radio. The girl looked up, not at the books, but at the teacher, and asked the question that every child in every under-resourced classroom asks: 'Is this for me, too?' The teacher smiled, set a workbook in her hands, and said, 'It's been waiting for you.' Outside, the mountains held their silence, and the afternoon light turned the dusty courtyard gold.

Reader's Guide

The Pies Descalzos Foundation exists to ensure that a child's family income or geographic isolation does not dictate whether they receive a quality education. Its core mission is to improve the learning environment in under-resourced public schools across Colombia—upgrading classrooms, providing materials, and supporting teachers so that instruction can be consistent and engaging.

Shakira founded the initiative and remains its public face and primary funder. She has personally visited schools, participated in events celebrating students' achievements, and used her global platform to draw attention to the gap between urban and rural education in Colombia. Her involvement is hands-on: she has spoken about selecting projects, reviewing progress, and advocating for sustained rather than one-time donations.

Key milestones include the foundation's establishment as a recognized charitable entity, the expansion of its reach to additional municipalities over the years, and the accumulation of thousands of children benefiting from improved school conditions. The broader impact is cultural as much as material: the foundation normalizes the idea that a pop star's responsibility extends beyond the stage, and that education is a national priority worthy of private, sustained investment.

During the Santos era, the foundation's work complemented government post-peace development goals, reaching communities that were only beginning to feel the benefits of a more stable political environment. The combined effect—public policy and private philanthropy—helped create a more cohesive national conversation about what children owed to the country and what the country owed to them.

Did You Know?

• The name 'Pies Descalzos' (Barefoot) is a direct reference to Shakira's childhood memories of seeing children walk to school without shoes in rural parts of Colombia.
• Shakira's philanthropy focused on education specifically, distinguishing it from many celebrity foundations that spread across health, environment, and humanitarian aid simultaneously.
• The Santos presidency (2010–2018) coincided with the 2016 peace agreement with the FARC, a context in which rural education investment became a central part of post-conflict reconstruction.
• Shakira has consistently framed her educational advocacy as a long-term commitment rather than a single charitable gesture, emphasizing sustainability over spectacle.