Madonna, in Malawi, refuses to talk about adoption
(Agencies)
2009-03-30 08:38
 |
Large Medium Small |
 |
|
U.S. pop star Madonna and her daughter Lourdes shake hands with residents in the village of Magwelo on the outskirts of Lilongwe, Malawi, Sunday March 29, 2009. Madonna toured an impoverished village and discussed plans Sunday for building a new school in Malawi, the central African nation where officials said she would begin proceedings this week to adopt a young girl. [Agencies] |
CHINKHOTA, Malawi – Madonna dashed from the airport to an impoverished Malawi village to discuss a school she is planning to build, saying nothing to the hordes of reporters on her trail Sunday about whether she is planning to start the process of adopting a second Malawian child.
The singer, casually dressed in a white fedora, walked in Chinkhota, a village near the capital of this AIDS- and poverty-stricken southern African country, holding the hand of her 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes. Dozens of reporters looked on.
The 50-year-old Madonna refused to answer questions about reports that she was in Malawi to adopt a 4-year-old girl. She said it was "amazing" to be back in the country where she runs a charity organization and from where she adopted her son David, 3, last year.
Then she rushed away in a convoy of at least three sport utility vehicles, as crowds of shouting, waving children ran after her.
Madonna was expected to appear Monday in court in Lilongwe, the capital, to sign adoption papers.
A security guard with the convoy said Madonna spoke to villagers about building a school, and she was seen looking at an artist's impression of the proposed building.
Madonna first traveled to Malawi in 2006 while doing charity work and filming a documentary on the devastating poverty and AIDS crisis here. Her Raising Malawi organization, founded in 2006, raises funds to fight poverty by providing food, shelter, education and health care for children here.
The U.N. estimates that half of the 1 million Malawian children with one or no parents was orphaned by AIDS, and that the virus that causes AIDS has infected 14 percent of adults here. Of the population of 13 million, 65 percent live below the poverty line, and most of those living in poverty are women. Madonna plans a special school for girls to increase opportunities for girls and young women in Malawi.