June 12, 2009 9:50 AM
- Text
Madonna Awaits Decision On 2nd Adoption
(CBS/AP) Madonna is courting cameras and controversy in Africa once again as she awaits a decision on the adoption of a second Malawian child, CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reports.
The pop star was told in Malawi today, she'll have to wait a week to learn if she'll get permission to adopt a 4-year-old girl.
Madonna is receiving criticism from a well-known charity, which says the world's children can't all be saved by moving them to Madonna's house.
Save the Children is urging Madonna to reconsider her adoption plans. Sarah Jacobs, the charity's spokesperson for Africa says, "we believe very strongly that children are much better looked after, even if they've lost their parents, within their home communities."
A welfare official and another person involved in the case said Madonna hopes to adopt a child whose mother died soon after her birth. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.
The one adoption case on Monday's court docket listed only the child's name, Chifundo James, which means "Mercy" in the local language.
Court official Thomson Ligowe confirmed that Madonna's adoption application has been adjourned by the court until the end of the week.
The 50-year-old appeared in court Monday and left about an hour later. It was not immediately known whether any of the girl's relatives were present.
Children's advocacy groups have accused her of wielding her immense wealth and influence to circumvent Malawian law requiring an 18- to 24-month assessment period before adoption.
According to an official in Malawi, connection to family is a key test for measuring Madonna's fitness to adopt a child from the country.
The argument has been made that celebrity, fortune, and connection to power have helped the singer skirt the rules, reports Roth.
With her divorce from moviemaker, Guy Ritchie, Madonna's family situation has changed since she adopted David, a Malawian child last year.
If the controversy is an issue for her, she's not conceding it, at least not publicly. To a reporter asking if she understood public reservations about going back to Malawi to adopt again, Madonna answered simply, "no."
The U.N. estimates that half of the 1 million Malawian children with one or no parents was orphaned by AIDS, and that the virus that causes AIDS has infected 14 percent of adults here.
The pop star was told in Malawi today, she'll have to wait a week to learn if she'll get permission to adopt a 4-year-old girl.
Madonna is receiving criticism from a well-known charity, which says the world's children can't all be saved by moving them to Madonna's house.
Save the Children is urging Madonna to reconsider her adoption plans. Sarah Jacobs, the charity's spokesperson for Africa says, "we believe very strongly that children are much better looked after, even if they've lost their parents, within their home communities."
A welfare official and another person involved in the case said Madonna hopes to adopt a child whose mother died soon after her birth. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.
The one adoption case on Monday's court docket listed only the child's name, Chifundo James, which means "Mercy" in the local language.
Court official Thomson Ligowe confirmed that Madonna's adoption application has been adjourned by the court until the end of the week.
The 50-year-old appeared in court Monday and left about an hour later. It was not immediately known whether any of the girl's relatives were present.
Children's advocacy groups have accused her of wielding her immense wealth and influence to circumvent Malawian law requiring an 18- to 24-month assessment period before adoption.
According to an official in Malawi, connection to family is a key test for measuring Madonna's fitness to adopt a child from the country.
The argument has been made that celebrity, fortune, and connection to power have helped the singer skirt the rules, reports Roth.
With her divorce from moviemaker, Guy Ritchie, Madonna's family situation has changed since she adopted David, a Malawian child last year.
If the controversy is an issue for her, she's not conceding it, at least not publicly. To a reporter asking if she understood public reservations about going back to Malawi to adopt again, Madonna answered simply, "no."
Madonna first travelled to Malawi in 2006 while doing charity work and filming a documentary on the devastating poverty and AIDS crisis there. Her Raising Malawi organization, founded in 2006, raises funds to fight poverty by providing food, shelter, education and health care for children here.
The U.N. estimates that half of the 1 million Malawian children with one or no parents was orphaned by AIDS, and that the virus that causes AIDS has infected 14 percent of adults here.
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