Selena Gomez heading to the Congo for charity trip

Teen star Selena Gomez is preparing to visit the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of her humanitarian work for the United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF.

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The star has been a UNICEF ambassador for two years, and has visited Ghana and Chile in a bid to raise awareness of the organization's work with children.

She performed at The House of Blues in Los Angeles on Monday to raise $200,000 for the charity, and revealed she is gearing up for a trip to the Congo after a word of encouragement from fellow UNICEF ambassador Joel Madden.

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She tells E!Online's Marc Malkin, "We first went to Ghana and then we went to Chile. In April, we're going to go somewhere a little harder, the Congo. ... The first trips were to ease me into it. I was talking to Joel Madden, and he works with UNICEF and he went to the Congo. He said it was the most intense thing he had ever done in his entire life -- and the best thing he had ever done."

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