Pop-superstar Ricky Martin advocates “Call and Live” campaign against human trafficking

Pop-star Ricky Martin, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno and Ayuda Executive Director Mauricio Vivero today campaigned for “Call and Live,” a program designed to abolish human trafficking in Latin America. “Call and Live” is used to help stop the increase of the more than 20,000 individuals trafficked into the United States every year, as mentioned by the U.S. State Department.

“Call and Live” is a hotline that is used to report human trafficking violations, and has already received over 55,000 phone calls to report wrongdoings. The IDB initiative against human trafficking is meant to be used by Latin nations in order to help their efforts to “prevent, protect, and prosecute.”

Pop-star Shakira a “committed philanthropist”, global education advocate

Pop singer and international superstar Shakira appeared today at a press conference with Representative Nita Lowy (D-NY) to campaign for the “Education for All Act.” The bipartisan act, if implemented, will increase funding for the U.S. to provide resources and leadership to “ensure all children have access to a quality basic education.”

Shakira was surrounded by fifty students from across the country, and said she was committed to improving the lives of children all over the world. Lowy called her a “committed philanthropist” and the singer described her plan to increase funding in order to do many things, such as create schools in developing countries.

Shakira discussed that the issue of helping developing countries improve their educational standards was particularly important to her because she herself had grown up and gone to school in a third-world community. The students in the packed room with the singer seemed receptive to her enthusiasm, and she reciprocated the warm reception they gave her by shaking hands and signing autographs with them after her speech.