associated press
Madonna gets a grip on David Banda, the child she is attempting to adopt.
Madonna has been criticized since the day she burst onto the public radar nearly three decades ago. But this time, the negative comments are misguided.
We should applaud the pure and simple act of Madonna’s desire to save a child who probably would have otherwise died. She’s not just trying to give this child a better life — she’s trying to give him life. And if perhaps she had an ulterior desire, to have another child of her own, and this was the only way she could, then kudos to her for seeing the positive alternatives.
She could easily have afforded any and all means of fertility treatments, if, at 48, she was having difficulty conceiving; or she could have gone through any local traditional adoption agency.
But to reach beyond, to find a child with no other chance, is honourable. And celebrity hype aside, it serves as a signal to childless couples who yearn for a baby, that there are many who are desperate for a home. Adoption is a noble choice.
Baby David, 13 months old, was sent to live in a Malawian orphanage at one month old. His father, Yohande Banda, said that he gave the boy to the orphanage mainly for medical care and breast-feeding after the baby’s mother died of malaria days after giving birth.
The uproar is over whether or not Madonna, and her husband Guy Ritchie, followed proper legal procedures in their adoption. According to Malawian officials, Madonna and Ritchie filed adoption papers before a judge at the Lilongwe High Court. And they followed “the normal processes.”
Last month, Madonna took custody of David after receiving interim approval.
Yet other child rights groups are countering that the Ritchies’ need to be residents of Malawi in order to adopt.
It’s comforting to know that there are worthwhile organizations in existence, which ensure that rich people and celebrities can’t just do a quick one-stop-shop when it comes to children, foreign or domestic. It’s important that these agencies ensure that proper procedures are followed.
Madonna is already the mother of two children, Lourdes, 9 and Rocco, 5. She has also set up a charity, Raising Malawi, which is setting up an orphanage to provide food, shelter and education for up to 4,000 children. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world with rampant disease and hunger. Fourteen per cent of its 12 million inhabitants are infected with HIV, and an estimated 1 million children have been orphaned.
If nothing else, Madonna’s public adoption of baby David from Malawi, and Angelina Jolie’s two adopted children, Maddox from Cambodia and Zahara from Ethiopia, makes us all aware that there are children all over this world in desperate need of fostering, adopting, and saving.
These are cases where celebrity interest can be very positive; they are showing us the spirit of generosity and concern for the world’s children that’s needed to awaken more global aid for children at risk.
