UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Shakira and her partner, FC Barcelona star Gerard Piqué, know how important it is to give newborns a healthy start in life. Two years ago, they hosted their first World Baby Shower to celebrate the birth of their son, Milan.
"We wanted to give something to other parents and babies around the world who live in conditions of extreme poverty and vulnerability, and whose lives can be improved greatly by small contributions from others," said Shakira.
The virtual shower was a huge success, providing 3.8 tons of therapeutic food, 80,000 doses of polio vaccine and other actual lifesaving supplies through UNICEF Inspired Gifts.
Now, the couple is throwing another World Baby Shower to welcome their second baby, Sasha Piqué Mebarak.
You're invited to @shakira & @3gerardpique's #WorldBabyShower - benefiting babies worldwide http://t.co/FNOfmOjObC pic.twitter.com/KkRSnpeA27
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) January 25, 2015Sasha and Daddy - to see full pic visit http://t.co/34fhTGeW0d pic.twitter.com/NKK9rD9u3q
— Gerard Piqué (@3gerardpique) February 6, 2015We asked Shakira to tell us more:
We’re so excited you teamed up with UNICEF again! How is this World Baby Shower different from Milan’s?
With this baby shower we wanted to take it one step further. To us, one of the most beautiful things about Milan’s shower was the idea that one day he could know that the celebration of his birth impacted so many others.
All new mothers want the best for their children, and being able to make your baby shower a UNICEF baby shower, or adding UNICEF's lifesaving Inspired Gifts to your own registry, allows your baby’s birth to be an even happier event that potentially saves thousands of lives.
There’s quite a range of gift options. How did you decide which ones made the cut?
We wanted to make sure that donations as small as five dollars could still have an impact. The most expensive item is the midwifery kit. We included it because proper tools and training for midwives in areas of extreme poverty is crucial for the health and survival of both newborns and mothers. The most popular gifts to date have been the vaccines.
A pregnant mother in Mondul Kiri province, Cambodia—shown here with her daughter during a counseling session with a midwife—receives vital information about prenatal health and tetanus vaccination through a UNICEF-supported program. © UNICEF/2015/Sandler
There are two ways you can take part in Shakira's World Baby Shower:
1. Purchase a UNICEF Inspired Gift. Select from a whole range of gift options, from lifesaving nutrition to school supplies. Each gift goes a long way to helping children around the world survive and thrive.
2. Host your own baby shower to benefit UNICEF. This campaign is one of the first to utilize a new "donate" button on Facebook videos. Shakira alone has 107 million fans—now that's a truly global reach!