Monday, October 16, 2006

Philanthropy, Déjà Vu or both?!


Madonna's adoption saga heats up even more. Some Malawian children rights groups are imploring the government to reconsider its decision to allow Madonna and hubby Guy, a temporary custody of 13 month old David Banda.

According to Malawian law, couples who want to adopt must wait almost two years before being allowed temp custody. In Madonna's case, this was just done in a matter of weeks. Some in her camps are adamant the case had been pending for quite some time now, the last two weeks were just to finalize the process.

Under the same law, child welfare officers are ordered to track an adopted child and its progress and see if there's anything that needs to be reported back to the judge who in return might revoke the order and the custody could be permanently withdrawn. In Madonna's case though, the country has no resources to follow her around, given the very highly mobile lifestyle she conducts.

Now if you ask me, I personally have no issue with the sudden infatuation that celebrities seem to have developped for Africa since the Shiloh-Jolie-Brad saga or whatever the name of that poor child is, however as someone mentioned in one of the comments I read somewhere, I think it'd make more sense to actually invest in a big time child welfare system onsite, where those kids not only will be taken care of but will also have a sense of security and belonging since they would be raised by and in their very native country. I mean, bless Madonna and the likes, who are trying to do their best to reduce the AIDS orphans plight in Africa and elsewhere, I just think they're going at it the "wrong" way. BBConline has some very interesting comments from around the globe on the subject.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Child,pleazz!Can somebody say Publicity stunt?

Joseph said...

I'm still unsure as to how I feel in regards to Madonna adopting this kid.

In one hand I know Madonna has always had a thing for black men/black culture/black music and such (she dated Dennis Rodman, stole voguing and had a bunch of R&B inspired songs), so I don't quite believe that it is just a mere publicity stunt. I think she might really want to offer her love and support to another human being, and God know's she can. Besides, that is another kid that is given an opportunity in life, so it is all good.

My concern is that she is starting a school that will teach some 3,000 orphans not just academic subjects but the teachings of the Kabbalah. WE all need something to believe in, and from the little I've read about Kabbalah it is not as dogmatic and other ways of thinking. But why can't she help these kids, without religious spoon feeding. I'm sure Oprah isn't doing that in the school she opened in South Africa.

What do you think?

Shabaka said...

I didn't know she was building the school with such a hidden agenda. If that's true then her acts aren't as magnanimous as they appear to an unsuspecting eye.

Coco LaRue said...

If they are not ignoring us then they are commodifying us. Ugh.