Madonna in Malawi to adopt child, help orphans

By Mabvuto Banda 1 hour, 34 minutes ago

LILONGWE (Reuters) - Pop diva Madonna arrived in Malawi on Wednesday to adopt an African child and fund an orphan center for 1,000 children, many of whom lost parents to AIDS

A fleet of cars and trucks specially flown in whisked the "Material Girl" and her entourage to an undisclosed location soon after their private plane landed at Lilongwe.

"She came straight from the plane, greeted the minister (of women and development) in the VIP lounge, then (went) straight to her car," said Adrina Michiela, a government spokeswoman.

Madonna's trip has stoked high expectations in Malawi, an impoverished nation of 13 million people who are dependent on tobacco exports. The country, like others in the region, has been decimated socially and economically by AIDS.

Madonna has said she plans to spend at least $3 million on programs to support orphans in Malawi and another $1 million to fund a documentary about the plight of children in the country.

She is scheduled to travel to Mphandula on Thursday, a village 20 km (12.5 miles) outside Lilongwe, where she is funding the construction of the Raising Malawi center to feed and educate orphans.

Madonna, who already has two children, is also making arrangements to adopt a child, according to the Malawi government, which is helping to locate a suitable candidate and planning to exempt her from a ban on non-resident adoptions.

Residents in Mphandula, which has no electricity, were busy on Wednesday rehearsing songs and making preparations.

"We will show her how we in Malawi welcome such visitors who are ready to help," the village chief said.

Critics have described the project as a publicity stunt that follows in the footsteps of other celebrities who have taken up causes on the world's poorest continent.

As part of their studies, orphans at the center will be taught a curriculum based on Spirituality for Kids linked to the Kabbalah school of mysticism to which Madonna adheres.

it's cool that Madonna wants to help the orphans and all, but seriously, why'd she have to bring Kabbalah into it? wtf, why can't you just teach them to read? Oh well, I suppose at this point, no one in Malawi is going to bite the hand that feeds them. And for the most part, I don't think many Africans are up for conversion....this might be a sweeping generalization but take the rural churches I went to in Kenya. The Maasai mamas would flock there every Sunday and pray, loudly. While there were definitely Christian converts, there were a good chunk who after services would slip back to their bomas and take part in their own tribal religious rituals. Which I thought was great, way to cover all the bases. Hopefully the same will happen here, as I don't see Jewish mysticism really taking a stronghold in Malawi. I guess this bothers me for a couple reasons, besides the whole publicity stunt I think this is, it bugs me that help is being given only if certain beliefs are allowed to be forced. Why can't there be aid without strings attached? Seriously, I would never build an orphanage and be like "well here it is, oh btw, you can only teach and practice the congregationalist religion." People would agree to it because they needed help yeah, but I think it's kind of lame. Which is not to say I find mission work lame, that is, pardon the pun, a Godsend, and I don't know where Africa would be without these people, converting or no converting. Madonna isn't a missionary though. She's a rich rock star. She needs to get over herself......but still spend money in Africa....