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MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Pop megastar Justin Bieber sang to and played basketball with young survivors of the Philippines’ deadliest typhoon Tuesday, December 10, after he flew into the disaster zone to boost an international relief effort.
Bieber flew unannounced to the central city of Tacloban just over a month after it was devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan and sang Christmas carols to children at City Central School in Tacloban amid tight security, witnesses said.
“He sang ‘Holy Night’ for the children,” said Kate Donovan, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), one of three aid agencies expected to benefit from Bieber’s charity work.
An Agence France-Presse reporter said Bieber also played basketball with some of the young boys, and posed for photos.
“UNICEF is very pleased that Justin Bieber wanted to visit Tacloban, and stopped by City Central Elementary School which has suffered a great deal of structural damage,” UNICEF emergency coordinator Angela Kearney said.
“Justin brought a lot of joy, hope and cheer to the hundreds of children who were there,” she added.
The money that would be raised would give child survivors access to education, vaccinations, clean water and sanitation, she said.
Bieber tweeted about his performance describing it as the last and “most important” show of his Believe World Tour.
About to go perform the last #believetour show. The real last one and the most important one of the tour. #GiveBackPhilippines
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) December 10, 2013The pop star also posted on Instagram a photo of him interacting with the children. He dubbed it the “most touching trip of my life.”
Another photo showed him in front of a crowd. Bieber revealed that the campaign has reaised over 3 million.
His visit to the Philippines is the latest in a series of relief effors for calamity-hit areas. As part of the #GiveBackPhilippines campaign, the Canadian pop star earlier raised over $500,000 for Yolanda survivors.
The promo gave donors the chance to win an exclusive studio hangout with the teen singer in Los Angeles, US.
In November, Bieber, along with his friend Milk Tyson, spray painted a wall in Los Angeles with the words “Pray 4 Philippines” and an image of hands in prayer. He reportedly painted the graffiti to raise funds for Yolanda.
Typhoon Yolanda – the most devastating storm that hit the Philippines in recent years – left close to 6,000 dead and thousands of families without a home. – With reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com
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