Shakira Campaigns for Poor Children in Latin America

Colombian pop singer Shakira is using her fame to help poor Latin American children.

Shakira, 31, who has reportedly sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, wants to raise awareness about the extreme poverty affecting millions of Latin American children.

She recently visited British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to talk about third world education and also went to Capitol Hill in Washington to urge lawmakers to approve more spending to help send the world's poor children to school.

"There are 40 million children in Latin America who have no access to any kind of development program, who receive no stimulation, nutrition or education and need to be nurtured and taken care of," she told Reuters."Artists have a tremendous power to communicate, to reach people, to woo, to inspire. It's an important and fundamental part of my life to be able to use my public profile to make certain issues visible, issues that are more important than my own career, that are more urgent and need immediate attention."

Shakira's charity, the Pies Descalzos Foundation, has raised money since 1997 for poor children in Colombia.

On Thursday, Shakira announced that Carlos Slim, Mexico's richest man, and Howard Buffett, son of U.S. investment guru Warren Buffett, had pledged nearly $200 million between them to the ALAS (which stands for Latin America in Solidarity Action when translated into English) Foundation.