SHAKIRA - SHAKIRA ISSUES PLEA FOR HELP IN CYCLONE-HIT BANGLADESH

Pop superstar SHAKIRA has called for governments across the globe to help rebuild schools in cyclone-hit Bangladesh. The Colombian singer, a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) ambassador, made an impassioned plea for help after a three-day visit to the South Asian country, which has been hit this year (07) by its worst storms in decades. The Grammy award winner deemed her experience talking to victims of Cyclone Sidr - which struck in November (07) - the "saddest" of her life, and begged governments around the world to support the rebuilding of some 3,000 schools damaged in the winds. She says, "The world should give a helping hand to rebuild schools in Bangladesh... because schools are the only place where children can pass happy moments forgetting all their saddest parts of life. "I will never forget the faces of mothers who lost their children and the children who lost their parents. It was the saddest part in my life..." Nearly 3,500 people died in Cyclone Sidr and millions have been left homeless. It is the worst disaster to hit the impoverished country since 1991.