Level 1 - Absolute Beginner
Shakira is a famous singer from Colombia. A big earthquake hit western Colombia this month.
The earthquake broke many school buildings. Shakira went to see the damage with her own eyes.
She said she will give 1.25 million dollars to help fix the schools. The money will also help fix a university.
Shakira has helped children in this area for many years. She already has schools there.
- singer
- a person who sings songs, especially as a job
- earthquake
- a sudden, strong shaking of the ground
- damage
- harm done to something, like a broken building
- million
- the number 1,000,000
- dollar
- a unit of money used in many countries
- university
- a school where students study after high school
- fix
- to repair something that is broken
- help
- to give support or assistance to someone
Level 2 - Elementary
Colombian singer Shakira has pledged $1.25 million to help rebuild schools damaged by a powerful earthquake that struck the western part of her home country earlier this month.
The magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit the Choco region hard, damaging nearly 200 schools. Shakira traveled to the city of Quibdo, the region's capital, to see the destruction for herself and meet with local officials.
Her donation will help rebuild ten schools and a university that trains many of the region's teachers and workers. The money comes from several sources, including Shakira herself, the concert company Live Nation, and an international education fund.
Shakira's charity foundation has worked in Choco for more than twenty years and already runs two schools there, so this new project builds on work she has supported for a long time.
- pledge
- to formally promise to give money or do something
- magnitude
- the size or strength of an earthquake, measured on a scale
- region
- a large area of a country with its own identity
- capital
- the main city of a region or country
- official
- a person who holds a position of authority in government
- donation
- money or goods given to help a person or cause
- source
- the place where something comes from
- foundation
- an organization set up to give money to good causes
Level 3 - Intermediate
Shakira has pledged $1.25 million to rebuild schools and a university in western Colombia after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake devastated the Choco region earlier this month, killing hundreds of people and damaging nearly 200 schools.
The Colombian pop star traveled to Quibdo, the regional capital, to survey the destruction firsthand and meet with government officials before announcing the pledge. The funding will go toward rebuilding ten schools as well as the Universidad Tecnologica de Quibdo, the main public institution of higher education serving the province.
The donation pools resources from several partners: $500,000 each from Shakira and the concert promoter Live Nation, and another $500,000 from the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, with a further $250,000 contributed by a regional development bank.
The commitment extends work Shakira's charitable foundation has carried out in Choco for more than two decades, where it already operates two schools. Officials say rebuilding the university is especially urgent, since it trains many of the teachers and professionals the region will need for its long recovery.
- devastate
- to severely damage or destroy something
- survey
- to look over and examine something carefully
- institution
- an established organization, especially one serving education or public purposes
- province
- a large administrative division within a country
- promoter
- a person or company that organizes and finances events, such as concerts
- pool
- to combine resources from different sources together
- commitment
- a promise or pledge to do something
- urgent
- needing immediate attention or action
Level 4 - Advanced
Shakira has committed $1.25 million toward rebuilding educational infrastructure in Colombia's Choco province, one of the poorest and hardest-hit regions after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake leveled buildings and claimed hundreds of lives earlier this month, with nearly 200 schools reported damaged.
The Colombian superstar traveled to the provincial capital, Quibdo, to assess the destruction in person and consult with local authorities before unveiling the pledge, which will fund the reconstruction of ten schools alongside the Universidad Tecnologica de Quibdo, the province's principal public institution of higher learning.
The financing is pooled from multiple stakeholders: $500,000 apiece from Shakira and concert promoter Live Nation, a matching $500,000 from the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, and a further $250,000 from the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, illustrating the kind of public-private coordination increasingly common in post-disaster recovery efforts.
The commitment builds on more than two decades of work by Shakira's Pies Descalzos foundation in the province, where it already operates two schools. Officials framed reconstructing the university as a particular priority, arguing that restoring the institution training the region's teachers and skilled workers is a prerequisite for any durable long-term recovery.
- infrastructure
- the basic physical systems and structures a society needs, such as schools and roads
- superstar
- an extremely famous and successful performer
- assess
- to carefully evaluate or judge the extent of something
- stakeholder
- a person or organization with an interest or investment in an outcome
- matching
- equal in amount to another contribution, often used to encourage more giving
- coordination
- the organized action of different groups working together
- prerequisite
- something that must exist or happen before something else can occur
- durable
- able to last for a long time, lasting
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