WINDHOEK, Namibia - Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt celebrated the birth of
their daughter in Namibia by donating $300,000 to help other babies in this
impoverished southern African country, according to a government statement
Monday.
Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, born Saturday at Welwitschia Clinic in Walvis Bay,
could get Namibian citizenship, government officials added.
While Welwitschia is private, most Namibians rely on state hospitals like one
in Walvis Bay and another in Swakopmund that were to benefit from the celebrity
couple's gift. The couple also pledged $15,000 for a school and a community
center in Swakopmund. The couple had visited the center during their stay in the
country.
Deputy Environment and Tourism Minister Leon Jooste said in the statement the
money will be used to improve the two hospitals' maternity wards and will
contribute significantly to the health of Namibian babies.
"We want to contribute to Namibia and the people who have been so gracious to
us at this time," the celebrities were quoted as saying in the statement.
Pitt and Jolie had retreated to Namibia in April to avoid media attention
while awaiting the birth of their third child, and the government here had
rallied to them. Officials put tight security around their hotel and the
hospital where their daughter was born, set up large green barriers on the beach
to shield them from photographers and refused to grant visas to foreign
journalists unless they had written permission from Jolie and Pitt to cover the
birth. Police have also arrested photographers and confiscated film.
"The couple is thoroughly overjoyed by the event and have expressed their
happiness to be able to share this experience in Namibia," said Monday's
statement.
In another statement, Jooste's ministry said Namibian law allowed for the
newborn to automatically become a Namibian citizen by birth. The statement said
the citizenship issue will be discussed with the couple later.
While Namibian officials declined to give any details on the birth, a doctor
at the hospital said there were no complications and the mother and daughter
were doing well.
"She is a healthy baby," the doctor said, speaking on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorized to release information.
Samuel Nuuyoma, the governor of the Namibian region of Erongo, confirmed the
birth at the Welwitschia Clinic in Walvis Bay Sunday and on Monday and told the
media that mother and baby were both healthy and doing very well.
"They are just fine, they are enjoying their lives," said Nuuyoma.
Pitt's publicist Cindy Guagenti announced the birth Saturday night, but said
no other information or photographs would be released.
Jolie and Pitt were first linked romantically shortly after appearing
together in the 2005 movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."
Jolie, 30, is a frequent visitor to Africa and serves as goodwill ambassador
for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. She has two adopted children:
toddler Zahara, from Ethiopia, and 4-year-old Maddox, from Cambodia. Both had
their surnames legally changed to Jolie-Pitt after Pitt announced his intentions
to adopt the children as well.
Pitt and actress Jennifer Aniston divorced last fall.
Jolie, who won an Oscar for her supporting role in 1999's "Girl,
Interrupted," is divorced from Billy Bob Thornton and Jonny Lee Miller.