RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Shakira has a special place in her heart for The Ghetto Kids — who danced alongside her and Burna Boy for “Dai Dai” during the World Cup Final halftime show on July 19 — and she shared her heartfelt thoughts in an Instagram post on Monday after spending quality time with the children.
“These past few days have been filled with inexplicable love,” the Grammy-winning star captioned her carousel post dedicated to the troupe of child dancers.
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In the social media post, the four-time Grammy winner shared highlights from their time together. The post features photos and a video of the children, who are from Uganda, East Africa, hanging out at the beach with the singer, braiding her hair, showing her choreography, sharing hugs and more.
“I took you to the beach for the first time in your lives, and we spent time together every day along with family and friends while we were all in awe watching how you transform every place you go to and touch every person you meet,” she continued.
“It was too hard to say goodbye to you because you know how to give and receive love in a way that I have never seen before and that not only made our days brighter but also showed us the miracle that happens when we let our guards down, and open our hearts to do the same,” Shakira wrote.
She went on to note how the kids showed that people can love and respect each other regardless of their backgrounds. Shak continued: “Now I love you like you are children of my own and this time with you has made me realize yet again that every child in the world should be treated and loved like our own.”
As she concluded her sweet note, the superstar mentioned each of the children by name — Ivan, Ricky, Joseph, Brighton, Kesha, Jojo, Ciara and Ketra — and shared her gratitude: “Thank you for being exactly who you are and teaching us the most valuable lessons about life and our purpose in it.”
Before their World Cup Final performance, Shakira and the children visited New York’s Times Square, where the kids performed choreography that they later posted on social media. On July 24, Shakira also posted a video of herself hugging the kids and celebrating with them after they joined her onstage for the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran Tour.
In addition to performing live with Shakira, The Ghetto Kids also appeared in the music video for “Dai Dai.” The song has so far been No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 for four weeks and has topped the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart for six weeks. It drew 58.6 million streams worldwide to top the Global 200 and 48.5 million outside the U.S. to reach the summit of the Global Excl. U.S. for the tallies dated Aug. 8, according to Luminate.
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