Sunday, March 27, 2011

Madonna, Malawi & Mismanagement

From Radar Online:
Malawian education expert and academic Dr. Steve Sharra wants superstar Madonna to return her two adopted children David and Mercy if she doesn’t build her promised school for needy African kids, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Dr Sharra is furious that Madonna and her Raising Malawi charity has scrapped her plans for a $15 million school for about 400 impoverished girls due to mismanagement.

And he used his Twitter account to attack the famous performer by writing: “Madge, if you don’t change your mind about the school, I might consider asking for David [and] Mercy’s return.”

* * *
Raising Malawi has ousted its board of directors and replaced its members with a new set of officials that includes Madonna and her manager, according to the New York Times newspaper.

Rabbi Michael Berg – the co-founder of Raising Malawai - sent an e-mail to the charity’s members stating: “A thoughtful decision has been made to discontinue plans for the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, as it was originally conceived.”

The Malawi school had collapsed after spending $3.8 million on the project and its executive director, the boyfriend of Madonna’s former trainer Tracy Anderson, left in October amid criticism of his management style and cost overruns.

Madonna issued a statement on Thursday saying she was still intent on using the organization, which has raised $18 million so far, to advance improvements in the beleaguered nation.
The problem with "asking for David's and Mercy's return" is that it's pretty much an admission by Malawi that they sold the children in the first place, that the adoptions were a quid pro quo arrangement, that they approved the adoptions in exchange for a $15 million payment.  Doesn't make Malawi look any better than Madonna -- selling children and buying children are equally bad, aren't they?

1 comment:

No Bamboozle said...

There are so many twists and turns to the Madonna adoption story, it is hard to keep up!

I worry about the "I am going to help your country after I adopt" philosophy. Angelina Jolie has that philosophy, also.

Will their children will grow up to feel "grateful" with the "look what your famous mother did for you" type mentality.

Yes, I have supported China adoption. But, my thought is teaching my child to help others in need, regardless of where they were born. Should she "choose" to help others from her birth country, then I would be supportive.