Returning To Malawi

Posted March 31, 201015 yr

Madonna is packing

Confirmation and more details about Madonna's upcoming visit to Malawi are included in this mail sent out by Raising Malawi's Philippe van den Bossche:

Dear all,It was once just a dream. But this week, Madonna and I will leave for Malawi to see our dream become a reality. Tuesday, April 6, we will lay the first bricks for the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls. We want you to be there with us. Madonna has been so moved by the stories of inspiring women that people like you shared with us, that she would like to share one person's words at the brick-laying ceremony.

Would you like for Madonna to share your story? Share your hopes and intentions now:

http://www.raisingmalawi.org/BrickLaying This academy will be so much more than just a school. In a country where one million children have been orphaned due to AIDS, our academy will educate, protect, and empower young girls who, quite frankly, carry the weight of their nation. It will be a family and support center for many orphaned girls left to raise other children. It will be a source of protection and access to medical care and regular meals. And it will be a place of spiritual empowerment, giving girls the tools to create the reality they deserve. But we can't forget: it will also be an outstanding school. Our academy will hold girls to the highest standards. Girls who have never before had someone believe in their potential will, for the first time, step foot inside a library and hold a textbook of their very own. The potential we are about to unleash is incredible. Share your dreams for these girls now:

http://www.raisingmalawi.org/BrickLayingMadonna and I are looking forward to seeing Anjimile Oponyo, the Director of Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, who will be there to lay the first brick along with Hans Vestberg, CEO of Ericsson and Jeffrey Sachs, President and Co-Founder of Millennium Promise. It is so exciting to be taking the support of so many from around the world with us. Thank you for your commitment to Malawi and to this academy. With great excitement, Philippe.

March 31, 201015 yr

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Madonna will be taking Mercy on this trip to see her family for the first since she left.

April 1, 201015 yr

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Madonna leaves London for Malawi on Monday!.

April 5, 201015 yr

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Madonna landed in Malawi

Madonna has arrived in Malawi ahead of her weeklong charity tour. According to an official program released by the pop star's charity, Raising Malawi, Madonna is scheduled Monday to visit the Millennium Village, a United Nations initiative in the central border district west of Lilongwe.

Madonna will be joined by economist Jeffrey Sachs, a development affairs expert and mentor of the initiative. On Tuesday, she will lay the first brick of her Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, signaling the official commencement of construction of the $15 million academy, set to open in 2011. Madonna has pumped millions into this impoverished southern African country and become very active in charitable efforts; she has also adopted two children from Malawi.

Source: AP

April 6, 201015 yr

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Madonna posted on her blog at Raising Malawi today - as you know she's in Malawi to lay the first brick in the construction of the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls - and wanted to let her fans and everyone else know about it: On my first visit to Malawi, I was devastated to meet child after child who had been orphaned by AIDS. Having lost my mother at such a young age, I felt a close connection to these children. Their stories had touched my own. In a country of 14 million, a staggering one million children have been left alone with the responsibility of raising each other. I returned home knowing the future of Malawi was resting on the shoulders of these orphaned children, and I had to act. So it is with tremendous joy that I return to Malawi to lay the first brick in the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls. By educating girls we will rebuild this community and raise this nation. Our academy will educate, protect, and empower 450 young girls who are Malawi’s hope for the future. We will stop the brain drain happening in so many African nations—our students will receive an internationally competitive education while incorporating local values. As an artist, I know the transformative power of art. Malawi’s culture will be preserved and passed on through the teaching of music, art, and dance in our academy. Once instilled with pride in their homeland, young women will understand the importance of remaining in Malawi and investing in their own communities. I will share not only my own words of encouragement tomorrow at our ceremony, but also encouragement from women and men around the world who believe that the future of Malawi rests squarely on the shoulders of its girls. As one Raising Malawi supporter wrote to Malawi's girls, “You carry the future of your country in your school bags.”Having seen the determination in the eyes of these children, I know they have the strength to save Malawi—they just need to be given the tools. I am so grateful for the many people who have partnered with me to provide the resources needed, including Jeffrey Sachs, with whom I am launching a new global initiative to provide access to education for all children on all continents. It is with hope for a bright future that I am here. Tomorrow the brick I will lay is not just the bedrock to a school—it is the foundation for our shared future.

April 6, 201015 yr

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Madonna laid the first brick at the $15 million girls' academy that she is building in Malawi today, promising to bring quality education to young girls.The singer and actress laid a stone with an inscription "Raising Malawi Academy for Girls" and the motto, Dare to Dream. "It has always been my dream to train women leaders who can help develop the country," Madonna said during the colourful ceremony that took place in Chinkhota village, some 15 km from the capital Lilongwe. The event was attended by education officials and curious villagers. "I grew up as a poor girl with my mother, I had no chance for good education, it is my aim to see Malawian girls get the right education," Madonna said. Madonna, who funds several initiatives in the southern African country, broke ground and planted a tree in October last year for the school, which will admit 500 girls from poor backgrounds.The school is modelled on a similar academy in South Africa, which was built by US talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Madonna arrived in the impoverished southern African country on Monday, telling reporters: "It's good to be back in my adopted country". "There is continued cooperation between the government and Madonna's charity, which is involved in several initiatives to help end poverty," Education Minister George Chaponda said about Madonna's education project. Madonna has already built a multi-purpose community centre at Mphandula village, 50km (30 miles) from Lilongwe, which looks after more than 8,000 orphans from scores of villages in the area.