Madonna says Malawi visit for charity but not adoption

Record ID: 165640

  • Title: Madonna says Malawi visit for charity but not adoption
  • Date: 25th January 2017
  • Summary: VENICE LIDO, ITALY (FILE) (REUTERS) **** WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **** VARIOUS OF MADONNA AT THE VENICE FILM FESTIVAL NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MADONNA
  • Embargoed: 8th February 2017 16:47
  • Keywords: Madonna adoption Malawi
  • Location: MALAWI / VARIOUS LOCATIONS
  • City: MALAWI / VARIOUS LOCATIONS
  • Country: Vietnam
  • Topics: Celebrities,Arts/Culture/Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA00560KYEYV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS NOTE: PICTURE QUALITY AS INCOMING
    THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    U.S. pop star Madonna denied on Wednesday (January 25) that she was in Malawi to adopt two more children, saying her visit was strictly for her charity work in the African nation.
    "I am in Malawi to check on the children's hospital in Blantyre and my other work with Raising Malawi and then heading home," Madonna told People magazine in a statement.
    "The rumors of an adoption process are untrue," the statement added.
    The "Rebel Heart" singer issued the statement after a Malawi judiciary spokesman, Mlenga Mvula, told Reuters and other news outlets that Madonna had "filed an application expressing interest to adopt two more kids from Malawi."
    "As a court, we adjourned the matter for a ruling (in the next two weeks). The court will either grant the adoption order or might not," Mvula said.
    Mvula could not provide details on the children Madonna wants to adopt, saying it was against the law to divulge such particulars at this stage.
    Some Malawians opposed the previous adoptions, accusing the government of allowing Madonna, as a global celebrity, to skirt laws that ban non-residents from adopting children in Malawi.
    Madonna, 58, adopted Malawian children David Banda and Mercy James in 2006 and 2009. The mega-selling pop singer has two other children, Lourdes and Rocco, from previous relationships.
    Madonna established the non-profit Raising Malawi in 2006 to provide health and education programs, particularly for girls, in the southeast African country.
    The organization is currently building a children's unit at a hospital in Blantyre, Malawi's second largest city, and has built 10 schools, according to its website.
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