Shakira's dreams of building schools in her native Colombia have become a reality - construction has started on a new academy in El Bosque, Barranquilla.
The work began last Friday, with the 42-year-old superstar telling reporters that 1,000 students and 60,000 community members will benefit from the new place, which will boast 28 classrooms, a library and cafeteria.
Shakira has also shared images of what the school will look like upon completion.
The academy is one of two schools the singer's Fundacion Pies Descalzos is planning in Colombia - a second will be built in Cartagena.
Shakira announced her school plans at the end of her El Dorado World Tour in November, explaining, "Throughout my life I have seen how education works miracles. I have seen lives and even entire communities transform. And believe me, to see that a child who did not have opportunities to succeed, manages to get ahead and obtain equal opportunities in adulthood, is a feeling so satisfying that it even exceeds that of winning a Grammy."
