Pop diva Madonna arrived in Malawi on Wednesday to adopt an African child and fund an orphan centre for 1 000 children, many of whom lost parents to HIV/Aids.
A fleet of cars and trucks 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 spokesperson.
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 HIV/Aids.
Madonna has said she plans to spend at least $3-million on programmes 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 20km outside Lilongwe, where she is funding the construction of the Raising Malawi centre to feed and educate orphans.
Madonna, who already has two children, is also making arrangements to adopt a child, according to the Malawi government. The goverment is helping to locate a suitable candidate and is 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 centre will be taught a curriculum based on ”Spirituality for Kids”. The curriculum is linked to the Kabbalah school of mysticism to which Madonna adheres. – Reuters