Friday, April 3, 2009
Lawyer: Madonna Has Filed Appeal to Adoption Ruling
Usmagazine
Madonna has already filed her appeal following the judge's ruling that she can't adopt Mercy James, her lawyer confirms.
"We are very surprised with this ruling," Alan Chinula tells Us.
On Wednesday, Chinula told Us he didn't see "any law in Malawi that [could] stop" the adoption. But Judge Esme Chombo cited requirements that adoptive parents reside in the country for 18 to 24 months.
In her ruling, the judge points out Madonna arrived in Malawi just last Sunday, and hadn't been in the country since she adopted David Banda, 3, in 2006.
But Women and Child Welfare minister Anna Kachikho -- who oversees the country's adoptions -- says she's "shocked by the ruling.
"I don't see what's wrong for Madonna to take one child as her own," she tells Us. "She has not used the back door."
Kachikho points out the singer's organization Raising Malawi is assisting over 25,000 orphans in the poverty-stricken nation.
The country's information minister Patricia Kaliati said yesterday: "We support her adoption process. Madonna's been good to us...and she's proved she can take care of David."
So why was Madonna allowed to adopt David, but not Mercy?
"It's a shocker, but [Chombo] belongs to the old school; she is very religious and a moralist," a source at Malawi's High Court tells Us. "She might not be in favor of Madonna's lifestyle of getting in and out of relationships and her semi-nude stage antics."
Madonna has already filed her appeal following the judge's ruling that she can't adopt Mercy James, her lawyer confirms.
"We are very surprised with this ruling," Alan Chinula tells Us.
On Wednesday, Chinula told Us he didn't see "any law in Malawi that [could] stop" the adoption. But Judge Esme Chombo cited requirements that adoptive parents reside in the country for 18 to 24 months.
In her ruling, the judge points out Madonna arrived in Malawi just last Sunday, and hadn't been in the country since she adopted David Banda, 3, in 2006.
But Women and Child Welfare minister Anna Kachikho -- who oversees the country's adoptions -- says she's "shocked by the ruling.
"I don't see what's wrong for Madonna to take one child as her own," she tells Us. "She has not used the back door."
Kachikho points out the singer's organization Raising Malawi is assisting over 25,000 orphans in the poverty-stricken nation.
The country's information minister Patricia Kaliati said yesterday: "We support her adoption process. Madonna's been good to us...and she's proved she can take care of David."
So why was Madonna allowed to adopt David, but not Mercy?
"It's a shocker, but [Chombo] belongs to the old school; she is very religious and a moralist," a source at Malawi's High Court tells Us. "She might not be in favor of Madonna's lifestyle of getting in and out of relationships and her semi-nude stage antics."
Madonna's adoption rejected by Malawian judge
CNN
Madonna's petition to adopt a second Malawian child was rejected by a local judge Friday, an official said.
"The decision came down to residency requirement and the fact that the judge believes she was being well taken care of in the orphanage," said Zione Ntaba, a spokeswoman for the Malawi Justice Department.
"For the Malawians, the fact that the child is at an orphanage, is being taken care of and is going through the school education system, that does qualify as the best interests of a child," Ntaba added.
The 50-year-old pop star had filed a petition to adopt a girl, Chifundo James, 4, whose first name translates to mercy in Chichewa, the country's national language. She has three other children, including a son she adopted from the southern African nation in 2006. Watch more about the court's refusal »
The rejection follows weeks of criticism by human rights activists, who said Madonna was using her fame to circumvent a residency requirement for foreigners adopting in the country.
A coalition of local nonprofits from across the country accused Madonna on Thursday of taking advantage of a weakness in the country's child protection system. Days earlier, the charity Save the Children UK had urged the American singer to rethink the adoption and let the child be raised by her relatives.
Local media have reported that the child's teenage mother died days after she gave birth to her.
"This is a triumph for the children of Malawi," said Mavuto Bamusi, the national coordinator of Malawi Human Rights Consultative Committee.
"Inter-country adoption is not the best way of providing protection to children ... they should grow up in familiar cultural and religious surroundings," Bamusi said, adding that "supporting children from outside our country only helps five of the 1.5 million orphans we have."
Despite the controversies, a majority of Malawians were rooting for the adoption.
Marilyn Segula, a presenter at Capital FM, which broadcasts in at least five cities, including the capital, Lilongwe said Thursday that 99 percent of callers wanted the adoption to be approved.
"People are saying: 'Why are these [non-governmental organizations] pretending to care now? If anyone wanted to amend the law, they should have done it with other adoptions.' "
Madonna's petition to adopt a second Malawian child was rejected by a local judge Friday, an official said.
"The decision came down to residency requirement and the fact that the judge believes she was being well taken care of in the orphanage," said Zione Ntaba, a spokeswoman for the Malawi Justice Department.
"For the Malawians, the fact that the child is at an orphanage, is being taken care of and is going through the school education system, that does qualify as the best interests of a child," Ntaba added.
The 50-year-old pop star had filed a petition to adopt a girl, Chifundo James, 4, whose first name translates to mercy in Chichewa, the country's national language. She has three other children, including a son she adopted from the southern African nation in 2006. Watch more about the court's refusal »
The rejection follows weeks of criticism by human rights activists, who said Madonna was using her fame to circumvent a residency requirement for foreigners adopting in the country.
A coalition of local nonprofits from across the country accused Madonna on Thursday of taking advantage of a weakness in the country's child protection system. Days earlier, the charity Save the Children UK had urged the American singer to rethink the adoption and let the child be raised by her relatives.
Local media have reported that the child's teenage mother died days after she gave birth to her.
"This is a triumph for the children of Malawi," said Mavuto Bamusi, the national coordinator of Malawi Human Rights Consultative Committee.
"Inter-country adoption is not the best way of providing protection to children ... they should grow up in familiar cultural and religious surroundings," Bamusi said, adding that "supporting children from outside our country only helps five of the 1.5 million orphans we have."
Despite the controversies, a majority of Malawians were rooting for the adoption.
Marilyn Segula, a presenter at Capital FM, which broadcasts in at least five cities, including the capital, Lilongwe said Thursday that 99 percent of callers wanted the adoption to be approved.
"People are saying: 'Why are these [non-governmental organizations] pretending to care now? If anyone wanted to amend the law, they should have done it with other adoptions.' "
I Am Because We Are - the book - officially launched
raisingmalawi.org
I AM BECAUSE WE ARE, the remarkable documentary film by director Nathan Rissman and Raising Malawi co-founder Madonna, documents the extraordinary challenges faced by Malawian children in the wake of the AIDS pandemic.
While the film features appearances by Madonna, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and President Bill Clinton, its real stars are the spirited children whose stories so heart wrenchingly relate the complexities of life in the developing world.
I AM BECAUSE WE ARE has inspired audiences at film festivals worldwide with its message of interdependence and intrinsic connection between all peoples. Its title is derived from a concept in African spirituality which states that the very existence of any one of us is defined by the well-being of others.
After a successful featured run on The Sundance Channel, the film's message of global interconnectedness now arrives at a very fitting venue on the worldwide web. Spread the word: I AM BECAUSE WE ARE enjoys a limited six-week online engagement at Hulu.com beginning this Thursday, March 26th.
I AM BECAUSE WE ARE, the remarkable documentary film by director Nathan Rissman and Raising Malawi co-founder Madonna, documents the extraordinary challenges faced by Malawian children in the wake of the AIDS pandemic.
While the film features appearances by Madonna, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and President Bill Clinton, its real stars are the spirited children whose stories so heart wrenchingly relate the complexities of life in the developing world.
I AM BECAUSE WE ARE has inspired audiences at film festivals worldwide with its message of interdependence and intrinsic connection between all peoples. Its title is derived from a concept in African spirituality which states that the very existence of any one of us is defined by the well-being of others.
After a successful featured run on The Sundance Channel, the film's message of global interconnectedness now arrives at a very fitting venue on the worldwide web. Spread the word: I AM BECAUSE WE ARE enjoys a limited six-week online engagement at Hulu.com beginning this Thursday, March 26th.
Filth and Wisdom at the Brisbane Queer Film Festival
Madonna Tribe
Madonna's "Filth and Wisdom" is screening at the Brisbane Queer Film Festival on Monday, April 6.
Tickets & Info are available at: www.brisbanepowerhouse.org.
Madonna's "Filth and Wisdom" is screening at the Brisbane Queer Film Festival on Monday, April 6.
Tickets & Info are available at: www.brisbanepowerhouse.org.
Madonna visit sheds light on Malawi's poverty
KUMBALI, Malawi – "Madonna, Madonna!" the barefoot boys in tattered T-shirts call out. Until recently, the pop star's name meant little in a country that didn't even have TV until a decade ago.
Even now, all these boys know is that a rich white woman ensconced in a nearby luxury lodge is the cause of the hubbub near their village.
This is Madonna's third trip to Malawi since 2006, when she started a charity to help the country's poor and orphaned children — one of whom she later adopted. On Friday, a judge is expected to give her the green light to adopt a second Malawian child, 4-year-old Chifundo "Mercy" James.
Critics have accused the singer of using her fame and fortune to fast-track the adoption and say the little girl would be better off raised by her extended family. Madonna has maintained she is following standard procedure, and on Thursday she received the endorsement of a top government minister.
Over the past week, Madonna and her entourage have traveled in three SUVS, drawing large crowds during visits to a day care facility funded by her charity and to an orphanage where her 3-year-old adopted son, David, once lived.
International photographers and television crews have set up daily stakeouts along the road to Kumbali Lodge, where Madonna has been staying in an oasis of charming chalets situated on a cattle and horse ranch not far from the capital — and just a stone's throw from a scruffy village of the same name.
Sometimes the paparazzi wait under shady acacia trees bursting with yellow blooms near the Presidential Palace before security guards move them on. Mostly, though, it's long hours spent on a dusty dirt road, watching village life go by.
Then, at the first sign of the star's convoy, doors slam shut, engines rev and the chase begins.
The group of young boys, who scrounge empty plastic bottles from reporters, have little concept of how famous and rich Madonna is. But they can see the fuss she has created and it's a source of great entertainment.
They break into belly laughs as photographers long used to the indulgences of the celebrity circuit, use their teeth to strip bark off sticks of sugar cane and suck the sweet fibers inside — a popular pastime in this poor country.
The boys don't speak much English and the photographers — who hail from France, Italy, Turkey and elsewhere — don't speak Chichewa, an official language in Malawi. But one language they all understand is soccer: Soon a rather deflated orange ball is produced and a game — with very flexible rules — is on.
Madonna's music is little known in this deeply Christian nation where a strict dress code banning trousers for women and long hair for men was enforced into the mid-1990s. There was no television until 1999 and even today, Western pop music is seldom heard on radio stations, which play mostly African tunes and reggae.
The scene played out on the road to Kumbali Lodge illustrates this former British colony's battle to break the cycle of poverty and corruption that afflicts so many African countries.
To get there, one takes the Presidential Way that leads out of the capital, Lilongwe, toward the manicured lawns of the $100 million presidential mansion built by Hastings Kamuzu Banda, who ruled Malawi for three decades after independence in 1964. He spent 90 days in the palace before he was ousted in the country's first multiparty election in 1994.
His successor, Bakili Muluzi, who now faces corruption charges for allegedly siphoning $10 million from donor countries into his personal bank account, refused while in office to live in the mansion while his people lived in poverty.
The incumbent President Bingu wa Mutharika, whose face graces numerous billboards in his bid to be re-elected in next month's election, has no such objections.
The road to Madonna's lodge eventually disintegrates into a deeply rutted muddy track surrounded by corn fields that cuts through the rundown village of Kumbali — a collection of crumbling mud huts, their roofs a patchwork of dried palm leaves.
Here men cycle past on old bicycles loaded with scraps of building material or passengers they are ferrying the three miles to Lilongwe.
One young girl of about 9 or 10 stood out during a visit there Wednesday — tall and scrawny, she was dressed in a dirty white T-shirt and a scrap of faded yellow-patterned cloth wrapped around her waist.
She was struggling with an enormous bundle of wood she likely spent all morning gathering. Eventually she managed to tie a rope made out of leaves around it. Then, with help from another girl, she hoisted the load onto her head and walked off into the long grass.
She returned later with a bucket of water balanced on her head, then swept the road clear of sugar cane debris with a broom of leafy branches. She was last seen strapping another woman's baby to her back and disappearing down the road.
In endorsing Madonna's adoption bid Thursday, Malawi's child welfare minister, Anna Kachikho, noted that children like this one have benefited from the singer's charities, which have helped 25,000 youngsters in a country of more than 1 million orphans, half of whom lost their parents to AIDS.
If wealthy Westerners like Madonna adopt even one, Kachikho said, "it's one mouth less" for Malawi to feed.
Malawi minister backs Madonna's adoption bid
LILONGWE, Malawi – Malawi's child welfare minister is backing Madonna's bid to adopt a second child from the impoverished southern African country.
That high-level endorsement came Thursday, a day before a judge is to rule on Madonna's request to adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James.
Women and Child Welfare Development Minister Anna Kachikho told the AP Malawi has nearly 2 million orphans. If people like Madonna adopt even one, Kachikho said, "it's one mouth less" for Malawi. Kachikho's ministry processes all adoptions in Malawi.
Kachikho added Madonna is helping more than 25,000 Malawian children.
A coalition of non-governmental organizations in Malawi says Madonna's plans have been fast-tracked because of her money and status. The minister says such critics are ungrateful.
Madonna Throws a Pre-Adoption Party in Malawi
Madonna is celebrating the adoption of three-year-old Mercy James — expected to be approved by a judge tomorrow morning — by throwing a party in Malawi.
Raising Malawi staff (who facilitated the adoption), government officials and teachers Madonna recruited for her Raising Malawi Academy are currently partying with the singer at the luxe Kumbali Lodge.
Earlier today, a truck carrying traditional dancers was spotted arriving at the lodge.
"We have been hired to perform for Madonna," a man carrying a traditional drum made of cow hide told a local. "We are very excited."
Mercy's uncles, Peter Baneti and John Ngalande, arrived at the event early.
They signed off on adoption papers Monday -- despite outcry from non-governmental organizations that accuse Madonna of using her wealth and celebrity status to bend Malawi's adoption laws.
"Mercy is now assured of a good education away from the abject poverty of our village," Baneti told Us earlier today. "Madonna has assured us she will not cut her ties with us."
Madonna's three-year-old adopted son, David Banda, visited with his birth father, Yohane Banda, last Sunday. (Although Yohane will not attend the party as he's returned to his home in Lipunga Village.)
Judge Esme Chombo is expected to sign off on the adoption during a Friday hearing at Lilongwe High Court at 8:30 a.m. local time.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Malawians support Madonna's adoption
CNN
(CNN) -- Malawians are rallying behind Madonna as she awaits a ruling Friday on whether she can adopt a girl from the southern African nation. "A positive decision will mean she can foster the child, then someone will visit her home later on to check on the girl before a permanent ruling can be made," Manda said.
(CNN) -- Malawians are rallying behind Madonna as she awaits a ruling Friday on whether she can adopt a girl from the southern African nation.
The pop star, who has three children, adopted a son from Malawi in 2006. She is seeking to adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James, 4.
"Ninety-nine percent of the people calling in are saying, 'let her take the baby,' " said Marilyn Segula, a presenter at Capital FM, which broadcasts in at least five cities, including the capital, Lilongwe.
"People are saying: 'Why are these NGOs pretending to care now? If anyone wanted to amend the law, they should have done it with other adoptions.' "
The law in Malawi stipulates that foreigners must have lived in the country for more than a year before they can adopt legally.
A local umbrella group for nonprofits accused the pop star Thursday of taking advantage of a weakness in the system just days after charity Save the Children UK said the child, whose teenage mother died days after her birth, should be raised by her extended family.
"We are concerned that our laws are being taken advantage of -- Malawi has very archaic adoption laws that have not changed in the past 50 years," said Mavuto Bamusi, the national coordinator of Malawi Human Rights Consultative Committee.
"We are actively campaigning for a change in laws," Bamusi added. "Yes, Malawi is poor, yes, it has a high mortality rate -- we are not disputing these facts. But is not an excuse to take children out of the country."
Chris Kamlongera, a drama professor at a university in Zomba, disagrees.
"If the nearest relatives of the child have no objection, what right does anyone have to challenge an offer to help a child?" Kamlongera asked. "If Madonna had ill-treated the first child she adopted, then they can argue. Otherwise, this is just another noise that will subside."
Kamlongera's sentiment is echoed by many in the nation, one of the poorest and least developed in the world. About two thirds of its citizens live below the poverty line while 46 percent of children under age 5 are chronically malnourished, according to the U.N.
"The critics have to ask themselves: Will they adopt that child? Have they ever adopted a child? If not, leave Madonna alone," said Bruce Charles, 29, a tour operator in Lilongwe.
Pheroce Tendame, Charles' co-worker, said while the welfare of the child is important, Madonna must abide by the law.
"She should not be treated differently, efforts must be made to ensure rules are followed because it is for the good of the child," Tendame said.
The pop star, who recently divorced filmmaker Guy Ritchie, first met Chifundo a few years ago.
"She has always had in mind that this is the girl she was going to come back and adopt," said Martin Geissler, a reporter for the ITN television network, who is in Malawi.
A judge will issue an interim ruling Friday as scheduled, according to Ken Manda, senior deputy registrar at high court of Malawi.
Malawi father 'happy' with Madonna adoption bid
LILONGWE (AFP) – The Malawian biological father of Madonna's first adopted child said Thursday he was happy that the star planned to adopt another child from that country to be a sister to his son.
"I am very very happy Madonna is going to adopt a sister called Mercy to David," Yohane Banda told AFP.
The American pop superstar is expected to hear a court decision Friday on her application to adopt a three-year-old girl, Mercy James, from an orphanage in southern Malawi.
"That's great news... Mercy and David will grow up together and remind each other that they come from a poor country called Malawi and hope they will do something about it," Yohane said.
Banda added that he had heard from Madonna herself that she intends to adopt the girl "to be a sister to David."
The little girl has been staying at the orphanage following the death of her mother, who died shortly after giving birth.
It is said that Madonna first met the child during her first visit in the country to adopt David Banda.
The singer caused controversy then as she was accused of using her fame and wealth to fast-track the process whereas Malawi does not have inter-country adoption legislation.
Madonna was given provisional custody for 18 months, which was made permanent last May.
Malawi government backs Madonna adoption attempt
LILONGWE (Reuters) – Malawi's government supports U.S. pop singer Madonna's bid to adopt a second child from the southern African country, the information minister said on Thursday, a position likely to anger rights groups.
Malawi's High Court is expected to rule on Friday whether she should be granted an interim adoption of a four-year-old girl, Mercy James.
The government came under fire after Madonna adopted a 13-month-old Malawian child, David Banda, in 2006, with critics accusing it of skirting laws to give her special treatment.
Malawian Information Minister Patricia Kaliati said Madonna had helped in the country and was a worthy mother.
"Madonna has been good to us, she is supporting over 25,000 orphans in this country and she has proved that she can take care of David," Kaliati told Reuters.
"Very few rich and famous people can take time to fly all the way to Malawi to support our children we support her adoption process."
Malawi civil society groups oppose the adoption and a local human rights activist said it would amount to child trafficking.
Madonna, accompanied by David, arrived in Malawi on Sunday ahead of the court examination of her application.
The star, who was divorced last year from British film director Guy Ritchie, is one of the most successful singers of all time, with album sales of more than 200 million.
Quick Updates!
* Jane Velez-Mitchell defends Madonna's adoption:
* Madonna’s Malawian lawyer Alan Chinula told The Sun: “There is no existing law that can stop this adoption now.”
* Brazilian prees reports that Jesus Luz was spotted having dinner with Guy Oseary and his wife in Rio a few days ago.
* M is rumored for Sacha Baron Cohen's song for his "Bruno" movie, together with many other singers.
* Madonna’s Malawian lawyer Alan Chinula told The Sun: “There is no existing law that can stop this adoption now.”
* Brazilian prees reports that Jesus Luz was spotted having dinner with Guy Oseary and his wife in Rio a few days ago.
* M is rumored for Sacha Baron Cohen's song for his "Bruno" movie, together with many other singers.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Third Spanish show officially announced
Madonna.com
Madonna fans, we are happy to confirm that Madonna's 'Sticky & Sweet' Tour will stop at Zaragoza's Recinto De La Feria De Zaragoza on July 25th.
While the public ticket sale will start on April 3rd at 10am local time, please note that a devoted fan club pre sale will start on April 1st at 5pm local time.
Madonna fans, we are happy to confirm that Madonna's 'Sticky & Sweet' Tour will stop at Zaragoza's Recinto De La Feria De Zaragoza on July 25th.
While the public ticket sale will start on April 3rd at 10am local time, please note that a devoted fan club pre sale will start on April 1st at 5pm local time.
Lourdes holding Mercy's hand - first current photo
The Sun
The Queen of Pop was pictured with Mercy for the first time yesterday as authorities began finalising the adoption arrangements.
Four-year-old Mercy held the hand of new sister Lourdes, 12, as she enjoyed her first family outing.
They were surrounded by a posse of minders, but Mercy — wearing a blue dress — was seen laughing and smiling as she joined her new family.
Madonna spent over an hour in Malawi’s High Court on Monday, when she told Judge Esme Chombo she would be “a deeply loving mother” to Mercy, whose Malawian name is Chifundo.
In adoption papers seen by The Sun, Madonna says: “To deny Chifundo the opportunity to be adopted by me could expose her to hardship and emotional trauma which is otherwise avoidable.”
The judge will give an official ruling on Friday — but Madonna, 50, has already been told that her application will succeed.
The pop queen is due to fly to Britain on Saturday — and has told staff at her London home to “prepare for the arrival of my new little girl”.
Madonna celebrated Monday’s successful meeting by throwing a dinner party at her luxury lodge.
A charity worker who attended the bash said Madge was drinking wine and hugging her staff — while her adopted son David held Mercy’s hand and ran around excitedly telling guests: “This is my new sister.”
The source said: “Madonna looked incredibly proud and happy, and David was so funny — he couldn’t leave Mercy alone and pulled her around all the guests.”
Eight-year-old brother Rocco — Madonna’s son with ex-hubby GUY RITCHIE — has also been helping to welcome Mercy into the family by playing with her in the gardens of the lodge.
A senior Malawian official yesterday confirmed that Madonna had been told Mercy was hers.
The official told The Sun: “This is all very confidential, and Judge Chombo must still make her ruling — but that ruling will be in favour of Madonna.
“Madonna is a very good mother and ambassador for Malawi. She has improved the lives of thousands of orphans.”
The approval comes after The Sun told how Madonna had recruited two of Malawi’s leading politicians to help secure her second adoption.
Madonna’s adoption of David from Malawi caused a storm, and some human rights groups accused her of using her vast wealth to “bulldoze” the authorities into agreeing to her requests.
The star has donated huge sums of money to help look after orphans in the African nation, where 14 per cent of adults are infected with HIV, the virus that causes Aids.
David, now three, yesterday met his biological dad Yohane Banda for the first time since he left for Madonna’s privileged showbiz world when he was adopted in 2006.
Farmer Yohane, 34 — immaculately dressed in blue suit and white shirt — wept with joy at the emotional reunion. He said: “I knew one day my dreams would be answered.”
Yohane, who had been forced to leave his baby son at an orphanage after the tot’s mum died, added: “At first I didn’t recognise him as he’s grown so much.
“David sat with me and spent time squeezing and playing with my nose.
“It was the proudest day of my life, to sit here again with my son. Now I want him to meet his half-brother and sister and show him the village in which we all live.”
Under the deal which allowed David’s adoption, Madonna has a duty to take him back “regularly” to Malawi so he can see his dad and keep in touch with his roots. And yesterday Madge apologised to other orphans at his former home — because David could not understand them.
At the moment David speaks only English, and was baffled when kids at the Home of Hope orphanage in Mchinji asked him “Muli cwanji?” — meaning “How are you?”
Madonna told orphanage staff she is employing a tutor to teach the whole family the basics of the local Chichewa language.
She added: “Next time I come here we won’t need a guy here to translate for us.”
Madonna defies criticism and vows to continue adopting baby Mercy
The Mirror
Defiant Madonna has told friends she will not be put off by the barrage of criticism over her attempt to adopt a second child from Malawi.
The singer knew her trip to find a sister for three-year-old David Banda would stir up a hornets’ nest – and sent friend Ben Fellows an email that predicted: “Let the storm commence.”
British film-maker Ben, who was himself adopted, said Madonna was determined to face the flak head-on. He added: “Once Madonna has put her mind to something, she achieves it – and this adoption is no different.
“She told me she thought it was very important that David had a sister, she had unconditional love to give another child and was going to jump through hoops to get her.
“She knew exactly what she was walking into. She was well aware that people would start sniping about it. She sent me an email just before she left for Malawi and signed it off ‘Let the storm commence!’”
Ben, who became friends with Madonna two years ago when he was making a film about his search for his birth mother, insisted she will be a great mum to Mercy James, the three-year-old girl she wants to adopt.
He said: “Despite her reputation, Madonna is a warm, loving woman. She speaks from the heart.”
London-based Ben, 34, said Madonna was angry when she was criticised for adopting David in November 2006.
He added: “She couldn’t understand it. She was hurt. Surely it shows how loved Mercy James is going to be that Madonna is prepared to go through all of this again in order to adopt her?”
Madonna, 50, yesterday took David back to the orphanage in Malawi where he used to live.
She apologised to staff there after the toddler seemed not to understand when the children there spoke to him in the Chichewa language.
Madonna, also accompanied by daughter Lourdes, 12, and son Rocco, seven, said she had hired a tutor to ensure David would be able to speak to the orphans on future visits.
She then handed out David and Rocco’s old clothes to youngsters.
David was taken to see the room where he used to sleep and was reunited with the nurse who used to look after him. One staff member said: “David can’t remember his time here because he was only a baby when he left.”
Mercy James was not with Madonna. She is being looked after by a nanny at a lodge where the family is staying.
A judge will rule on Madonna’s adoption attempt this week. She has been accused of using her fame to sidestep rules.
Defiant Madonna has told friends she will not be put off by the barrage of criticism over her attempt to adopt a second child from Malawi.
The singer knew her trip to find a sister for three-year-old David Banda would stir up a hornets’ nest – and sent friend Ben Fellows an email that predicted: “Let the storm commence.”
British film-maker Ben, who was himself adopted, said Madonna was determined to face the flak head-on. He added: “Once Madonna has put her mind to something, she achieves it – and this adoption is no different.
“She told me she thought it was very important that David had a sister, she had unconditional love to give another child and was going to jump through hoops to get her.
“She knew exactly what she was walking into. She was well aware that people would start sniping about it. She sent me an email just before she left for Malawi and signed it off ‘Let the storm commence!’”
Ben, who became friends with Madonna two years ago when he was making a film about his search for his birth mother, insisted she will be a great mum to Mercy James, the three-year-old girl she wants to adopt.
He said: “Despite her reputation, Madonna is a warm, loving woman. She speaks from the heart.”
London-based Ben, 34, said Madonna was angry when she was criticised for adopting David in November 2006.
He added: “She couldn’t understand it. She was hurt. Surely it shows how loved Mercy James is going to be that Madonna is prepared to go through all of this again in order to adopt her?”
Madonna, 50, yesterday took David back to the orphanage in Malawi where he used to live.
She apologised to staff there after the toddler seemed not to understand when the children there spoke to him in the Chichewa language.
Madonna, also accompanied by daughter Lourdes, 12, and son Rocco, seven, said she had hired a tutor to ensure David would be able to speak to the orphans on future visits.
She then handed out David and Rocco’s old clothes to youngsters.
David was taken to see the room where he used to sleep and was reunited with the nurse who used to look after him. One staff member said: “David can’t remember his time here because he was only a baby when he left.”
Mercy James was not with Madonna. She is being looked after by a nanny at a lodge where the family is staying.
A judge will rule on Madonna’s adoption attempt this week. She has been accused of using her fame to sidestep rules.
Madonna confirms her adoption push in Malawi
Yahoo!
MCHINJI, Malawi – Madonna said Tuesday that she was following standard procedures in her adoption of a Malawian girl, her first response to accusations that she is using her fame to speed the process.
The pop superstar also took her 3-year-old adopted son, David, to visit the orphanage in Mchinji, a village near the Zambian border, where he once lived.
The orphanage's director Lucy Chipeta said she brought David, Madonna, her 12-year-old daughter Lourdes and 8-year-old son Rocco to see the room and crib that David had used.
"It was an emotional moment," Chipeta told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "I am happy she brought her other children to see his roots."
Madonna took the children to the orphanage with a security detail including uniformed Malawian police officers and plain-clothed guards from a private security firm. The entourage used two Toyota Land Cruisers to block a horde of journalists and more than 200 curious children.
There were scuffles with the journalists, including cameramen and TV crews, as they tried to enter the brick-walled orphanage.
Madonna brought David on Monday to meet his biological father for the first time since he left Malawi in 2006.
"Madonna is committed to maintaining an ongoing relationship with David's Malawian roots," said Liz Rosenberg in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
She also confirmed Madonna is trying to adopt a girl named Chifundo "Mercy" James who is about 4 years old.
"Madonna is currently awaiting a judge's ruling regarding the adoption of Mercy James. She is following all standard procedures that are required," Rosenberg wrote.
Madonna's Adoption: Back Off, Big Mouths, She's Not "Stealing" A Baby!
Huffington Post
When Little Orphan Annie is adopted by Daddy Warbucks in the Broadway show "Annie," does anyone in the audience think, "This is an outrage"? Daddy Warbucks lives in a huge, fabulous mansion on Fifth Avenue, is friends with President Roosevelt and when he first brings Annie home for a tryout visit, he assigns his assistant to take charge of her — yet no one in the audience gasps. I don't recall theatergoers telling their children that poor little Annie should have stayed in the orphanage because Daddy Warbucks is too rich, too single, and possibly in too much of a midlife crisis to adopt her.
And remember, it's not ascertained until the end of the show that Annie is in fact a true orphan — her parents could still be alive.
Well if it's OK for richie rich Daddy Warbucks to become an "adoptive" dad, then why are media and other Big Mouths in a fury that megarich Madonna is about to "steal" another African child from an orphanage? So what that she's rich and is touring the Malawian orphanage in a $2,800 Chanel sweatsuit? At least she's there and she's spent a portion of her fortune making improvements to that orphanage. Are her critics raising money to improve the lives of the one million Malawian orphans or lining up to adopt them themselves? There's certainly plenty of children desperate for parents in the small African country — one in five of its children are, in fact, orphans.
If Madonna can give an opportunity to even one of these poverty-stricken children, why should her wardrobe matter? Has anyone priced out Angelina Jolie's outfits when she went to Vietnam, Ethiopia or Cambodia - the home countries of HER three adopted children? When Angelina dresses for red carpet events, she routinely wears Ralph Lauren, Versace and Max Azria. Should this disqualify her from adopting in the future? Should all wealthy people with designer-laden wardrobes be excluded from adopting? Should Oprah forget her dream of educating poor South African girls because she likes to carry an Hermes purse?
The child that Madonna is adopting is reportedly named Mercy and she is 4 years old. I remember hearing that when Madonna adopted David Banda as an infant — he's now a healthy-looking 3-year-old — she had also wanted to adopt a little girl named Mercy. So she's had Mercy in her sight for two years, and never forgot about her. She's hardly returned to Malwai to "shop" for a child. If anything, she's refused to forget about an orphan that, like Annie, desperately needed a home to call her own.
According to press reports, Mercy's 18-year old mother died when she was just five days old, her dad is MIA and she has a 61 year-old grandmother Lucy Chekechiwa who has accused Madonna of stealing her granddaughter. Mind you: Mercy lives in the same orphanage where Madonna discovered David Banda. She does not live with her grandmother.
Now, I am sympathetic to the feelings of Mercy's grandmother who doesn't want to lose all ties with her granddaughter. But put this in an American perspective. There are hundreds of thousands of children in this country who are ineligible for adoption because a parent or grandparent who can't care for them has refused to release them for adoption. Instead, these children and teenagers are caught in the foster care system for years, and can be shuttled from foster home to foster home to group home, until they are 18.
The result: They never have the opportunity to have their own loving, stable home with an adoptive family of their own. Instead, when they are 18 they are thrown out like unwanted animals to fend for themselves in the streets. Rosie O'Donnell just filmed a movie called "America" for Lifetime about this harsh reality.
Now imagine being Mercy. She has a chance to escape a place where one in five children doesn't live past the age of five, the average life expectancy is 48, and the average household income is $160 a year. How powerless would you feel if a bunch of muckety mucks that you've never met are trying to ruin your chance for a better life?
Wouldn't you want to be special to someone? Have a mom? Have someone to kiss your boo boos? Have a big sister and two brothers? Have a cozy bed? Go to school? Be able to see a doctor when you're sick? Have enough to eat? Go to college? Be able to have a profession that you love when you grow up?
Would you really want to be denied these things because your potential mom was rich and wore a $2,800 Chanel sweatsuit? Madonna with her Kabbalah and fitness obsession may not be everyone's cup of tea but by all reports she is a loving mother. Lourdes and Rocco have been photographed playing happily with local kids in Central Park numerous times. They look like completely normal, happy children. Pictures of David Banda show that he's grown into a healthy, smiling three year-old. There's no evidence that the children of rock stars grow up any more or less dysfunctional than other children, at least as long as they aren't featured in a reality show, Ozzy Osbourne- style.
So have mercy on Madonna Bigbucks and Mercy. If you're not prepared to go to Africa and adopt a needy child, then don't diss someone who is, even if she is a material girl.
When Little Orphan Annie is adopted by Daddy Warbucks in the Broadway show "Annie," does anyone in the audience think, "This is an outrage"? Daddy Warbucks lives in a huge, fabulous mansion on Fifth Avenue, is friends with President Roosevelt and when he first brings Annie home for a tryout visit, he assigns his assistant to take charge of her — yet no one in the audience gasps. I don't recall theatergoers telling their children that poor little Annie should have stayed in the orphanage because Daddy Warbucks is too rich, too single, and possibly in too much of a midlife crisis to adopt her.
And remember, it's not ascertained until the end of the show that Annie is in fact a true orphan — her parents could still be alive.
Well if it's OK for richie rich Daddy Warbucks to become an "adoptive" dad, then why are media and other Big Mouths in a fury that megarich Madonna is about to "steal" another African child from an orphanage? So what that she's rich and is touring the Malawian orphanage in a $2,800 Chanel sweatsuit? At least she's there and she's spent a portion of her fortune making improvements to that orphanage. Are her critics raising money to improve the lives of the one million Malawian orphans or lining up to adopt them themselves? There's certainly plenty of children desperate for parents in the small African country — one in five of its children are, in fact, orphans.
If Madonna can give an opportunity to even one of these poverty-stricken children, why should her wardrobe matter? Has anyone priced out Angelina Jolie's outfits when she went to Vietnam, Ethiopia or Cambodia - the home countries of HER three adopted children? When Angelina dresses for red carpet events, she routinely wears Ralph Lauren, Versace and Max Azria. Should this disqualify her from adopting in the future? Should all wealthy people with designer-laden wardrobes be excluded from adopting? Should Oprah forget her dream of educating poor South African girls because she likes to carry an Hermes purse?
The child that Madonna is adopting is reportedly named Mercy and she is 4 years old. I remember hearing that when Madonna adopted David Banda as an infant — he's now a healthy-looking 3-year-old — she had also wanted to adopt a little girl named Mercy. So she's had Mercy in her sight for two years, and never forgot about her. She's hardly returned to Malwai to "shop" for a child. If anything, she's refused to forget about an orphan that, like Annie, desperately needed a home to call her own.
According to press reports, Mercy's 18-year old mother died when she was just five days old, her dad is MIA and she has a 61 year-old grandmother Lucy Chekechiwa who has accused Madonna of stealing her granddaughter. Mind you: Mercy lives in the same orphanage where Madonna discovered David Banda. She does not live with her grandmother.
Now, I am sympathetic to the feelings of Mercy's grandmother who doesn't want to lose all ties with her granddaughter. But put this in an American perspective. There are hundreds of thousands of children in this country who are ineligible for adoption because a parent or grandparent who can't care for them has refused to release them for adoption. Instead, these children and teenagers are caught in the foster care system for years, and can be shuttled from foster home to foster home to group home, until they are 18.
The result: They never have the opportunity to have their own loving, stable home with an adoptive family of their own. Instead, when they are 18 they are thrown out like unwanted animals to fend for themselves in the streets. Rosie O'Donnell just filmed a movie called "America" for Lifetime about this harsh reality.
Now imagine being Mercy. She has a chance to escape a place where one in five children doesn't live past the age of five, the average life expectancy is 48, and the average household income is $160 a year. How powerless would you feel if a bunch of muckety mucks that you've never met are trying to ruin your chance for a better life?
Wouldn't you want to be special to someone? Have a mom? Have someone to kiss your boo boos? Have a big sister and two brothers? Have a cozy bed? Go to school? Be able to see a doctor when you're sick? Have enough to eat? Go to college? Be able to have a profession that you love when you grow up?
Would you really want to be denied these things because your potential mom was rich and wore a $2,800 Chanel sweatsuit? Madonna with her Kabbalah and fitness obsession may not be everyone's cup of tea but by all reports she is a loving mother. Lourdes and Rocco have been photographed playing happily with local kids in Central Park numerous times. They look like completely normal, happy children. Pictures of David Banda show that he's grown into a healthy, smiling three year-old. There's no evidence that the children of rock stars grow up any more or less dysfunctional than other children, at least as long as they aren't featured in a reality show, Ozzy Osbourne- style.
So have mercy on Madonna Bigbucks and Mercy. If you're not prepared to go to Africa and adopt a needy child, then don't diss someone who is, even if she is a material girl.
Madonna says following rules in Malawi adoption
Reuters
By Michelle Nichols
NEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters) - Madonna is "not skirting any legal issues" in her bid to adopt a young girl from Malawi, her spokeswoman said on Tuesday amid criticism the U.S. singer is receiving special treatment in the southeast African country.
Malawi civil society groups have said they plan to oppose Madonna's attempted adoption of four-year-old Mercy James, while a prominent local human rights activist said the move would amount to child trafficking.
Madonna appeared in court in Malawi on Monday seeking to adopt Mercy. The case was adjourned until April 3.
"The adoption process for Mercy began over a year ago when Madonna met her on one of her visits to Malawi. The connection was instant and profound," spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg said in a statement emailed to Reuters. "Madonna's desire to adopt Mercy is totally heartfelt."
"She is not skirting any legal issues in her application to adopt this child and is looking to provide a loving family environment and the best education and health care possible for a child who has been in an orphanage since her birth," said Rosenberg.
She said Madonna has "tremendous support" in Malawi for the adoption, including from President Bingu Wa Mutharika.
Critics had accused the government of giving Madonna, one of the world's most successful performing artists, special treatment when she adopted her three-year-old Malawian son David Banda, saying it skirted laws that ban nonresidents from adopting children.
Rosenberg said the singer has taken David to visit his biological father in Malawi. Madonna took custody of David in October 2006. A court formally approved the adoption in May 2008.
"Madonna is committed to maintaining an ongoing relationship with David's Malawian roots," Rosenberg said.
Madonna also has two biological children -- daughter Lourdes, 12, and son Rocco, 8.
By Michelle Nichols
NEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters) - Madonna is "not skirting any legal issues" in her bid to adopt a young girl from Malawi, her spokeswoman said on Tuesday amid criticism the U.S. singer is receiving special treatment in the southeast African country.
Malawi civil society groups have said they plan to oppose Madonna's attempted adoption of four-year-old Mercy James, while a prominent local human rights activist said the move would amount to child trafficking.
Madonna appeared in court in Malawi on Monday seeking to adopt Mercy. The case was adjourned until April 3.
"The adoption process for Mercy began over a year ago when Madonna met her on one of her visits to Malawi. The connection was instant and profound," spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg said in a statement emailed to Reuters. "Madonna's desire to adopt Mercy is totally heartfelt."
"She is not skirting any legal issues in her application to adopt this child and is looking to provide a loving family environment and the best education and health care possible for a child who has been in an orphanage since her birth," said Rosenberg.
She said Madonna has "tremendous support" in Malawi for the adoption, including from President Bingu Wa Mutharika.
Critics had accused the government of giving Madonna, one of the world's most successful performing artists, special treatment when she adopted her three-year-old Malawian son David Banda, saying it skirted laws that ban nonresidents from adopting children.
Rosenberg said the singer has taken David to visit his biological father in Malawi. Madonna took custody of David in October 2006. A court formally approved the adoption in May 2008.
"Madonna is committed to maintaining an ongoing relationship with David's Malawian roots," Rosenberg said.
Madonna also has two biological children -- daughter Lourdes, 12, and son Rocco, 8.
Madonna Deserves Cheers Not Jeers for Casting Light on Africa´s Orphan Misery
American Chronicle
Earl Ofari Hutchinson
First an outfit called Save the Children UK butted in and denounced Madonna for adopting Malawi orphan David Banda in 2006. Now another bunch has jumped into the adoption fray and branded her a"bully" for her plans to adopt another Malawi orphan. The Human Rights Consultative Committee pretty much rehashed the same tired complaint as Save the Children UK did three years back and that´s that Madonna is using her wealth and star power to end around Malawi´s adoption procedures.
Madonna ignored Save the Children UK in 2006 with their silly bellyache and she´ll likely do the same with the Consultative Committee. The figures tell the grim tale of why she should. According to UN estimates half of the 1 million Malawian children with one or no parents are orphaned by AIDS. More than 13 percent of Malawi´s 13 million are poor, dirt poor, and not surprisingly the majority of them are women.
Malawi is hardly an aberration. More than 12 million children have lost one parent or are orphans in African nations. And given the still rampant disease, warfare and poverty that plague many of these countries, the number of orphans or near-orphans will soar to nearly 20 million next year. Apart from a string of cramped, desperately under-funded and in many cases unsafe orphanages in sub-Saharan Africa, many of these children are doomed to live out their childhood years in a caretaker existence.
That´s only the start of Africa´s orphan misery. Africa's orphans are still mostly unwanted anywhere else in the world, and that includes the United States. In 2005, more than 20,000 immigrant visas were issued to orphan children whom Americans adopted from other nations. Ethiopia, with a paltry 441 orphans taken in by Americans, was the only African country that cracked the top-10 list. Liberia and Nigeria were the only other African nations among the top-20 nations, with 182 and 82 orphans taken in by Americans.
Madonna has raised millions through her Raise Malawi Organization to fight poverty and disease in the country. She´s made plans to build a school for young women there, and done more than any other celebrity too raise attention to the plight of Malawian orphans and women. Madonna could easily have been like the legion of air head stars whose idea of helping the poor is an annual photo-op mug shoot at a high profile, star studded, red carpet gala. Instead she put her money and name behind tackling one of the world´s toughest problems and that´s providing a better life for Africa´s dispossessed children. For that she´s piteously ragged on, sniped at, and backbitten, by every media chasing hound, and a handful of sanctimonious orphan relief groups. Why?
One reason for that is loudly and publicly stated. The other is unstated, and more contemptible.
Human rights and child protection groups claim that Madonna tossed her money and celebrity weight around to bend Malawi's adoption laws and fast-track the adoption, and that the adoption is another celebrity publicity stunt. Both are falsehoods. She observed the rules in 2006 with the adoption of Banda, and Malawi's courts have granted her an interim adoption order. She also kicked in a lot of dollars to boost orphanage services in the country. As one of the world's best-known superstars, with legions of paparazzi jumping at the chance to record her every cough, Madonna hardly needs to snatch an African child to grab some camera action.
The unstated, and more contemptible, reason that certain groups and individuals are upset about the adoption is the archaic notion that a white person, especially a wealthy white celebrity, is culturally clueless when it comes to raising a black child. Or worse, that they'll whitewash the child's black identity and tout white values (whatever they are).
What makes this notion even more dumb is that the crisis is not just one in which African babies are shunned in America -- African-American orphans are too. There are more than a half-million children in foster care homes in America. Nearly 40 percent of them are African-Americans. They stay in foster care homes on average a year longer than white children.
There is absolutely no hard evidence that the race of the adopting parent has much to do with whether an adopted child matures into a healthy, emotionally secure adult. The key is that the home must be loving, nurturing and financially stable. There is also little evidence that black children raised by white parents suffer permanent racial or cultural identity amnesia. Race and racism are still alive enough and in enough places in American society to insure that black children can't and won't forget that they're black. We need look no further than the man who sits behind the desk in the Oval office for proof of that.
Madonna did a huge service by using her star power not to exploit but to cast light on Malawi and Africa's orphan misery. You go Madonna.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson
First an outfit called Save the Children UK butted in and denounced Madonna for adopting Malawi orphan David Banda in 2006. Now another bunch has jumped into the adoption fray and branded her a"bully" for her plans to adopt another Malawi orphan. The Human Rights Consultative Committee pretty much rehashed the same tired complaint as Save the Children UK did three years back and that´s that Madonna is using her wealth and star power to end around Malawi´s adoption procedures.
Madonna ignored Save the Children UK in 2006 with their silly bellyache and she´ll likely do the same with the Consultative Committee. The figures tell the grim tale of why she should. According to UN estimates half of the 1 million Malawian children with one or no parents are orphaned by AIDS. More than 13 percent of Malawi´s 13 million are poor, dirt poor, and not surprisingly the majority of them are women.
Malawi is hardly an aberration. More than 12 million children have lost one parent or are orphans in African nations. And given the still rampant disease, warfare and poverty that plague many of these countries, the number of orphans or near-orphans will soar to nearly 20 million next year. Apart from a string of cramped, desperately under-funded and in many cases unsafe orphanages in sub-Saharan Africa, many of these children are doomed to live out their childhood years in a caretaker existence.
That´s only the start of Africa´s orphan misery. Africa's orphans are still mostly unwanted anywhere else in the world, and that includes the United States. In 2005, more than 20,000 immigrant visas were issued to orphan children whom Americans adopted from other nations. Ethiopia, with a paltry 441 orphans taken in by Americans, was the only African country that cracked the top-10 list. Liberia and Nigeria were the only other African nations among the top-20 nations, with 182 and 82 orphans taken in by Americans.
Madonna has raised millions through her Raise Malawi Organization to fight poverty and disease in the country. She´s made plans to build a school for young women there, and done more than any other celebrity too raise attention to the plight of Malawian orphans and women. Madonna could easily have been like the legion of air head stars whose idea of helping the poor is an annual photo-op mug shoot at a high profile, star studded, red carpet gala. Instead she put her money and name behind tackling one of the world´s toughest problems and that´s providing a better life for Africa´s dispossessed children. For that she´s piteously ragged on, sniped at, and backbitten, by every media chasing hound, and a handful of sanctimonious orphan relief groups. Why?
One reason for that is loudly and publicly stated. The other is unstated, and more contemptible.
Human rights and child protection groups claim that Madonna tossed her money and celebrity weight around to bend Malawi's adoption laws and fast-track the adoption, and that the adoption is another celebrity publicity stunt. Both are falsehoods. She observed the rules in 2006 with the adoption of Banda, and Malawi's courts have granted her an interim adoption order. She also kicked in a lot of dollars to boost orphanage services in the country. As one of the world's best-known superstars, with legions of paparazzi jumping at the chance to record her every cough, Madonna hardly needs to snatch an African child to grab some camera action.
The unstated, and more contemptible, reason that certain groups and individuals are upset about the adoption is the archaic notion that a white person, especially a wealthy white celebrity, is culturally clueless when it comes to raising a black child. Or worse, that they'll whitewash the child's black identity and tout white values (whatever they are).
What makes this notion even more dumb is that the crisis is not just one in which African babies are shunned in America -- African-American orphans are too. There are more than a half-million children in foster care homes in America. Nearly 40 percent of them are African-Americans. They stay in foster care homes on average a year longer than white children.
There is absolutely no hard evidence that the race of the adopting parent has much to do with whether an adopted child matures into a healthy, emotionally secure adult. The key is that the home must be loving, nurturing and financially stable. There is also little evidence that black children raised by white parents suffer permanent racial or cultural identity amnesia. Race and racism are still alive enough and in enough places in American society to insure that black children can't and won't forget that they're black. We need look no further than the man who sits behind the desk in the Oval office for proof of that.
Madonna did a huge service by using her star power not to exploit but to cast light on Malawi and Africa's orphan misery. You go Madonna.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Madonna has to adopt a defiant stance
BelfastTelegraph
By Gail Walker
Why all this moral fingerpointing about Madonna’s wish to adopt a second child from Malawi?
Fair enough, she's a global megastar. Fair enough, she's only recently dumped ‘our own’ Guy Ritchie — the chap who for a while gave us rights of ownership to ‘Madge’ — and that brought her domestic arrangements into focus once again.
But really we had all this last time round, with the adoption of her son David. The reaction then was particularly venomous, with the little boy hunted from the airport to his front door with the same hysterical mania as if he’d actually been Madeleine McCann.
Madonna held her ground then, with her usual disdain for whatever drivel the media can serve up about her. And now quite remarkably she’s returned to the same contentious process to adopt Mercy James, a four-year-old orphan.
It's easy to see why the star is one of the most resilient, enduring icons of modern culture — the bitch just won't let go. Anyone else would have said after the last adoption: “That was a PR disaster. No more of that.” But not Madonna. And that's because she knows it's been a success.
Her charity, Raising Malawi, is well bedded in now — jibes about its Kaballah ethos are about as tasteless as comments about any faith-based mission. The notion, as put forward by some charities, that children like David and Mercy would be better left in their own culture, is actually an argument for the withdrawal of all Western aid agencies from countries similarly afflicted by hunger and disease.
Intervention takes many forms, but the idea that creating a small island of wealth in which a chosen child might be brought up and the standards of their family raised to an impossible level in comparison with the next village is untenable and stupid.
Next we’d be told it would be that Madonna did nothing — and that that would be a better outcome. Child dies in its natural habitat and the western world is safe for freetrade chocolate and eco-ethical flip flops.
But this isn't some ‘rent a random refugee' scheme. This is an adoption. David is her son. Mercy James will be Madonna's daughter. Just as if she had conceived and given birth to her. All the rights belonging to blood belong to these two children. It's for keeps. The value of Madonna's action will be felt by adoption agencies here who are still struggling to place children because there’s still felt to be something peculiar about it all, with the Press routinely more interested in who the real parents are and if they have traced them yet.
The only people whose views count on this are the children themselves. They will be the ones who will judge Madonna Louise Ciccone, in the way we all do as we look back on our childhoods.
It's understandable Save The Children will seize on the opportunity to attach themselves to a megastar in order to raise their profile a few blocks up the websites. But I doubt anyone is giving money to that charity in order for it to sound forth about Madonna's quite legitimate, ethical and love-based adoption. After all, Madonna doesn't have to do this, she doesn't need the feelgood-ery, the profile boost.
As for the critics who object because she’s a single mother? Yes, a two-parent family is always the ideal, but there are many single mothers — often not by choice — doing an outstanding job bringing up children on their own.
Besides, the evidence would suggest that Madonna presides over a tight family unit. Her older daughter Lourdes is with her in Malawi, involved in the process and keen to welcome her new sister.
Would every teenager be so keen? It shows Madonna is able to give her family real, engaged responsibilies in thinking of others less well-off than themselves.
If David and Mercy grow up thinking they are different in that family set-up, it will only because of the rubber-necking and mutterings of the society they are living in. It won't be as a result of the family that they’re now part of.
Monday, March 30, 2009
M and the kids meeting Mercy
"Sources at Lilongwe's luxury Kumbali lodge, where Madonna is staying, yesterday told of the touching scenes as the singer's children Lourdes, twelve, Rocco, eight, and David, three, met their new sister for the first time.
After the children sat down for a special meal together Rocco - Madonna's son by her ex-husband Brit film director Guy Ritchie, 40 - pulled his younger brother and sister Lourdes outside to play football in the lodge's luscious gardens.
But he then turned to gently take his prospective new sister Mercy by the hand - persuading her to come and play outside with them too.
The source yesterday said: "Mercy is a beautiful little girl, with eyes like saucers and a smile that could melt butter.
"She's spent the last few days in the lodge with one of Madonna's nannies, running around in circles and endlessly stroking the owner's cat.
"But, when Madonna arrived on Sunday night, Mercy started laughing and clapping her hands.
"It was very emotional for Madonna too - who hasn't seen Mercy since she was a two-year-old.
"Madonna sat with her for hours and was very attentive. She seemed so proud to be sat holding this Malawian little girl."
The source added that David - who has returned to his homeland for the first time in two years - was presented with a special strawberry cheesecake by staff at the lodge.
And Mercy tucked into a bowl of 'Supergate' - a local rice dish.
David was also reunited with his peasant father Yohane Banda, 34 - after the farmer made repeated appeals over the past two years to see his son again.
Yohane yesterday told how his "very special boy" didn't even recognise him when they were introduced - with the tot asking: "Who are you?"
He added: "My son didn't recognise me and asked me who I was.
"I understand, as he was a barely a year old when he left - too young to remember these things.
"And, truthfully, I didn't recognise him either as he has grown so much.
David sat with me and spent time squeezing and playing with my nose."
"It was the proudest day of my life, to sit here again with my son. Now I want him to meet his new half brother and sister and show him the village in which we all live."
After the children sat down for a special meal together Rocco - Madonna's son by her ex-husband Brit film director Guy Ritchie, 40 - pulled his younger brother and sister Lourdes outside to play football in the lodge's luscious gardens.
But he then turned to gently take his prospective new sister Mercy by the hand - persuading her to come and play outside with them too.
The source yesterday said: "Mercy is a beautiful little girl, with eyes like saucers and a smile that could melt butter.
"She's spent the last few days in the lodge with one of Madonna's nannies, running around in circles and endlessly stroking the owner's cat.
"But, when Madonna arrived on Sunday night, Mercy started laughing and clapping her hands.
"It was very emotional for Madonna too - who hasn't seen Mercy since she was a two-year-old.
"Madonna sat with her for hours and was very attentive. She seemed so proud to be sat holding this Malawian little girl."
The source added that David - who has returned to his homeland for the first time in two years - was presented with a special strawberry cheesecake by staff at the lodge.
And Mercy tucked into a bowl of 'Supergate' - a local rice dish.
David was also reunited with his peasant father Yohane Banda, 34 - after the farmer made repeated appeals over the past two years to see his son again.
Yohane yesterday told how his "very special boy" didn't even recognise him when they were introduced - with the tot asking: "Who are you?"
He added: "My son didn't recognise me and asked me who I was.
"I understand, as he was a barely a year old when he left - too young to remember these things.
"And, truthfully, I didn't recognise him either as he has grown so much.
David sat with me and spent time squeezing and playing with my nose."
"It was the proudest day of my life, to sit here again with my son. Now I want him to meet his new half brother and sister and show him the village in which we all live."
Madonna to Appear in Malawi Court Friday
People
Madonna will face a judge in Malawi on Friday as part of her ongoing quest to adopt another child.
Court registrar James Chigona told reporters that Justice Esme Chombo will consider whether to grant Madonna a temporary custody order to allow her to take 3-year-old Mercy James out of the country. Chinula tells PEOPLE that Madonna's split from her husband, filmmaker Guy Ritchie, will not affect her chances to adopt Mercy. "Malawi laws do not say single parents cannot adopt," he said. "The courts assesses cases as they come."
Mercy's teenage mother, Mwandida Maunde, died at age 18 in 2006.
Meanwhile Madonna and her family have used the trip to help her son, David Banda, explore his roots. In an emotional reunion, David met with his biological father, Yohane Banda.
"We spent three hours together. My son has grown too big," he told reporters. He also said that David looks very much like him, "but resembles more his half brother Dingiswayo."
Madonna briefly met Yohane and updated him of his son's schooling. "She is a sweet lady," said the 33-year-old peasant farmer of the singer.
Sources tell PEOPLE that Madonna is expected to take her children Lourdes, 12, Rocco, 8, and David, 3, to the Home of Hope orphanage in the border district of Mchinji for her adopted son's reunion with the orphanage where the singer found him in 2006. She also took her children's to David's ancestral village of Lipunga, where they visited Consol Homes, a school run on Kabalah teachings.
"I am impressed with what you are doing here," Madonna told the staff at the school.
Madonna will face a judge in Malawi on Friday as part of her ongoing quest to adopt another child.
Court registrar James Chigona told reporters that Justice Esme Chombo will consider whether to grant Madonna a temporary custody order to allow her to take 3-year-old Mercy James out of the country. Chinula tells PEOPLE that Madonna's split from her husband, filmmaker Guy Ritchie, will not affect her chances to adopt Mercy. "Malawi laws do not say single parents cannot adopt," he said. "The courts assesses cases as they come."
Mercy's teenage mother, Mwandida Maunde, died at age 18 in 2006.
Meanwhile Madonna and her family have used the trip to help her son, David Banda, explore his roots. In an emotional reunion, David met with his biological father, Yohane Banda.
"We spent three hours together. My son has grown too big," he told reporters. He also said that David looks very much like him, "but resembles more his half brother Dingiswayo."
Madonna briefly met Yohane and updated him of his son's schooling. "She is a sweet lady," said the 33-year-old peasant farmer of the singer.
Sources tell PEOPLE that Madonna is expected to take her children Lourdes, 12, Rocco, 8, and David, 3, to the Home of Hope orphanage in the border district of Mchinji for her adopted son's reunion with the orphanage where the singer found him in 2006. She also took her children's to David's ancestral village of Lipunga, where they visited Consol Homes, a school run on Kabalah teachings.
"I am impressed with what you are doing here," Madonna told the staff at the school.
M in Malawi - photos and video - 30/03/09
allaboutmadonna, NY Post
Madonna with her kids at a school she financed, 50km from Malawi’s capital Lilongwe (March 30 2009).
Madonna with her kids at a school she financed, 50km from Malawi’s capital Lilongwe (March 30 2009).
Madonna appears in Malawi court in adoption bid
Reuters
LILONGWE (Reuters) - U.S. pop singer Madonna appeared in a Malawi court Monday seeking to adopt a second child, a girl called Mercy James, from the southern African country in a move that could meet opposition from rights groups.
Madonna appeared at the court in a black dress and sunglasses. She did not speak to reporters after the High Court case was adjourned.
LILONGWE (Reuters) - U.S. pop singer Madonna appeared in a Malawi court Monday seeking to adopt a second child, a girl called Mercy James, from the southern African country in a move that could meet opposition from rights groups.
Madonna appeared at the court in a black dress and sunglasses. She did not speak to reporters after the High Court case was adjourned.
"It has been adjourned to Friday, April 3 for the judge to make her ruling," court registrar Thomson Ligowe told Reuters.
One of Madonna's lawyers said outside the court that she was asking the court to grant her an interim adoption of about 18 months of Mercy, who is four years old.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
M in Malawi - video and photos - 29/03/09
Associated Press
More photos: Getty Images
LILONGWE, MALAWI - MARCH 29: Madonna and daughter Lourdes attend a briefing at Chinkhota Village outside Lilongwe where a new school is being established with her backing on March 29, 2009 in Malawi, South Africa.
More photos: Wenn
Just Jared
Air traffic controllers: Madonna arrives in Malawi
LILONGWE, Malawi (AP) — Madonna, the original Material Girl, landed in a decidedly un-material nation Sunday, flying into the capital of Malawi where she was expected to begin proceedings this week to adopt a young girl.
Air traffic controllers at the airport in the capital of Lilongwe confirmed that her plane landed Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter with reporters.
This would be the second child the 50-year-old pop star has adopted from the impoverished African country. The adoption for her Malawian-born son David, 3, was finalized last year.
A Malawian welfare official and another person involved in the adoption proceedings say the girl Madonna is hoping to adopt is about 4 years old and her unmarried mother died soon after she was born. The girl's father is believed to be alive but no other details were available. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is considered sensitive.
Madonna and the girl's uncle are expected to appear in court on Monday to sign adoption papers.
A U.S. government official confirmed that an adoption bid by Madonna, an American, was under way. The luxury lodge where Madonna normally stays in Malawi has been fully booked and visitors are being turned away.
Madonna faced harsh criticism for years over David's adoption. Children's advocacy groups accused her of wielding her wealth and influence to circumvent Malawian law requiring an 18- to 24-month assessment period before adoption.
Austin Msowoya, legal researcher with Malawi's Law Commission, played down concerns that a second adoption by Madonna would violate any laws.
He said the best interests of the child needed to be taken into account — whether that was staying in an orphanage in Malawi or getting "an education with Madonna."
"When you look at these two options, then perhaps it becomes in the best interests of the child to allow the adoption if the parents and the guardians consent to it," he told Associated Press Television News on Saturday.
Malawians support Madonna’s second adoption
NYASATIMES
Many Malawians have expressed happiness with plans by US pop star Madonna to adopt a second child from the country despite criticism by British charity, Save the Children.
Madonna’s bid to adopt orphaned Chifundo James, 4, will be examined by High Court Judge Esmie Chombo in Lilongwe on Monday and the 50 year-old US singer will be present during the hearing.
The pop queen who adopted David Banda was encouraged by President Ngwazi Dr Bingu wa Mutharika to even adopt more Malawian children.
“Malawi has over one million orphans and some of them many aren't even able to go to school. And someone comes and takes ones child to give that child a future, an education and we want to make a noise? I don't know, I really don't know. I wish someone had come and taken 10,000 Malawian children because I know 10,000 Malawian would have better education and opportunities,” Mutharika captured in a Reuters video clip said.
Mzondi Lungu a Malawian writing on the social networking site, Facebook, commended Madonna for her plans and trashed calls by Save the Children UK that the singer should rethink.
“I thinks that Madonna is doing lots of good works at home in Malawi which needs respect and recognition. I see no problem with adoption. These so called charities who oppose are just trying to sabotage her good works. After all , many orphaned kids roam the streets begging helplessly while some charity bosses live a luxury life in the name of the poor,” Lungu who is based in England wrote on his Facebook page.
Lungu’s poem in support of Madonna’s adoption on Facebook also attracted positive comments.Abigail Mhango wrote: “Oh thank God for Madonna indeed. It makes me angry. Am sure if people had a choice they would say Madge please take me! Madonna woyeee!”
Tylon Kondowe also chorused his support comment and called the condemnation of Madonna by the charity as hypocrisy saying the organization is not really helping many orphaned children in Malawi.
Towera Ngwira, however is excited that Madonna’s adoption publicity is putting the southern African country on the world map.
“We should thank her because she is putting Malawi on the map now, everyone knows Malawi and also for the love and kindness she showed as a mother,” pointed out Ngwira.
Save the Children UK, spokesman Dominic Nutt statement also received bashing by readers on Nyasa Times through their comments to the story.
James Malizani a regular contributor in comments section on Nyasa Times wrote: “I would suggest these rich British should live in an orphanage for a year and experience the hardship these kids are going through, before they open up their mouth and speak on behalf of the orphans.
“Can I suggest that Mr. Nutt has a nice, spacious home, bed, food in the UK and has a bright future and if he has kids they too are looking forward to a prosperous future? Orphans in Malawi and around the world are facing a bleak future and life.”
Malazani added: “Madonna should be applauded for what she is doing by everyone around the world. The problem of orphans, poverty has no boundaries, or colour. It is a global problem and should have both global as well as local solutions. I get frustrated by these bodies, who purport to speak on behalf of these kids and yet, they cannot offer practical solutions that provides these kids with a bright future.
“Can I also suggest to Mr. Nutt to adopt one of two orphans from Malawi or other country, and stop killing the only little hope these kids have. May be Mr. Nutt should hear stories from people with personal experiences with orphaned kids, I am one of those. We all have a responsibility to help. One planet, all Gods’ people.”
In another comment, one Njala Nthenda Nsanje wrote: “Now I know why President AlBashir of Sudan doesn’t want these so called charity organizations in his country. The fact is that these organizations are full of white people with blue eyes just to quote President of Brazil Luala Da Silva. These people with blue eyes do not in any way love a black person. Not at all. If Madonna adopted a white child say from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Albania these organizations could kept mum but since Madonna is adopting a black child from s is a matter of concern.”
Nsanje claimed the opposition was inspired by racism.
According to Associated Press report, Austin Msowoya, legal researcher with Malawi’s Law Commission, said the child’s best interests should be taken into account — whether that means staying in an orphanage in Malawi or getting "an education with Madonna."
The singer will be led by her Malawian lawyer Allan Chinula in court on Monday to sign the adoption papers.
Many Malawians have expressed happiness with plans by US pop star Madonna to adopt a second child from the country despite criticism by British charity, Save the Children.
Madonna’s bid to adopt orphaned Chifundo James, 4, will be examined by High Court Judge Esmie Chombo in Lilongwe on Monday and the 50 year-old US singer will be present during the hearing.
The pop queen who adopted David Banda was encouraged by President Ngwazi Dr Bingu wa Mutharika to even adopt more Malawian children.
“Malawi has over one million orphans and some of them many aren't even able to go to school. And someone comes and takes ones child to give that child a future, an education and we want to make a noise? I don't know, I really don't know. I wish someone had come and taken 10,000 Malawian children because I know 10,000 Malawian would have better education and opportunities,” Mutharika captured in a Reuters video clip said.
Mzondi Lungu a Malawian writing on the social networking site, Facebook, commended Madonna for her plans and trashed calls by Save the Children UK that the singer should rethink.
“I thinks that Madonna is doing lots of good works at home in Malawi which needs respect and recognition. I see no problem with adoption. These so called charities who oppose are just trying to sabotage her good works. After all , many orphaned kids roam the streets begging helplessly while some charity bosses live a luxury life in the name of the poor,” Lungu who is based in England wrote on his Facebook page.
Lungu’s poem in support of Madonna’s adoption on Facebook also attracted positive comments.Abigail Mhango wrote: “Oh thank God for Madonna indeed. It makes me angry. Am sure if people had a choice they would say Madge please take me! Madonna woyeee!”
Tylon Kondowe also chorused his support comment and called the condemnation of Madonna by the charity as hypocrisy saying the organization is not really helping many orphaned children in Malawi.
Towera Ngwira, however is excited that Madonna’s adoption publicity is putting the southern African country on the world map.
“We should thank her because she is putting Malawi on the map now, everyone knows Malawi and also for the love and kindness she showed as a mother,” pointed out Ngwira.
Save the Children UK, spokesman Dominic Nutt statement also received bashing by readers on Nyasa Times through their comments to the story.
James Malizani a regular contributor in comments section on Nyasa Times wrote: “I would suggest these rich British should live in an orphanage for a year and experience the hardship these kids are going through, before they open up their mouth and speak on behalf of the orphans.
“Can I suggest that Mr. Nutt has a nice, spacious home, bed, food in the UK and has a bright future and if he has kids they too are looking forward to a prosperous future? Orphans in Malawi and around the world are facing a bleak future and life.”
Malazani added: “Madonna should be applauded for what she is doing by everyone around the world. The problem of orphans, poverty has no boundaries, or colour. It is a global problem and should have both global as well as local solutions. I get frustrated by these bodies, who purport to speak on behalf of these kids and yet, they cannot offer practical solutions that provides these kids with a bright future.
“Can I also suggest to Mr. Nutt to adopt one of two orphans from Malawi or other country, and stop killing the only little hope these kids have. May be Mr. Nutt should hear stories from people with personal experiences with orphaned kids, I am one of those. We all have a responsibility to help. One planet, all Gods’ people.”
In another comment, one Njala Nthenda Nsanje wrote: “Now I know why President AlBashir of Sudan doesn’t want these so called charity organizations in his country. The fact is that these organizations are full of white people with blue eyes just to quote President of Brazil Luala Da Silva. These people with blue eyes do not in any way love a black person. Not at all. If Madonna adopted a white child say from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Albania these organizations could kept mum but since Madonna is adopting a black child from s is a matter of concern.”
Nsanje claimed the opposition was inspired by racism.
According to Associated Press report, Austin Msowoya, legal researcher with Malawi’s Law Commission, said the child’s best interests should be taken into account — whether that means staying in an orphanage in Malawi or getting "an education with Madonna."
The singer will be led by her Malawian lawyer Allan Chinula in court on Monday to sign the adoption papers.
M and the kids do Kabbala - one day before jetting to Malawi - 28/03/09
Gossip Girls
The day before she's set to jet off to Malawi to adopt a young girl, Madonna was spotted visiting the Kabbalah Centre in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday (March 28).
Offering up a smile when wished good luck with her adoption bid, the Material Girl was accompanied on the Kabbalah outing by her three children, David Banda, Lourdes 'Lola' Leon and Rocco Ritchie.
Lourdes is sporting A M shirt for Comic relief.
The day before she's set to jet off to Malawi to adopt a young girl, Madonna was spotted visiting the Kabbalah Centre in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday (March 28).
Offering up a smile when wished good luck with her adoption bid, the Material Girl was accompanied on the Kabbalah outing by her three children, David Banda, Lourdes 'Lola' Leon and Rocco Ritchie.
Lourdes is sporting A M shirt for Comic relief.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)