Maybe these articles will help define the issue. Should we reserve judgment until we see (a) how her orphan center is doing in, say, five years and (b) whether or not the children are brainwashed into "controlling their 9-year old egos" with the help of the Kabbalah?
"Madonna ends Malawi charity trip
Singer Madonna has ended a six-day trip to Malawi, where the one-year-old boy she hopes to adopt was born.
The star opened a centre funded by the charity she co-founded, which aims to feed and educate 32,000 orphans.
She also visited the orphanage where toddler David Banda had lived, but her spokeswoman denied reports that she planned to adopt a second local child.
She has interim custody of the boy, with officials due to decide if she should be granted full adoption rights.
David joined her on the trip, which was Madonna's second in six months.
She and her film director husband Guy Ritchie first travelled there to sign official papers to take David into their care.
Madonna was warmly welcomed at a care centre opened by her charity
There were conflicting reports as to whether the 20-month-old met his biological father during the visit to the Home of Hope orphanage.
Reuters quoted witnesses as saying that David had seen peasant farmer Yohane Banda, but the Associated Press said it was unclear whether such a meeting had taken place.
Last year critics of Madonna alleged that she had used her celebrity status to "fast-track" the adoption and get around Malawian laws.
However, the singer strenuously denied that this was the case."
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Associated Press:
"EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — Two senior Malawian officials have praised Madonna for adopting a child from their country — and rebuked those who have criticized the pop star.
Madonna's efforts to adopt a motherless 13-month-old boy, David Banda, from the African country have set off a media storm. The 48-year-old singer and her husband, filmmaker Guy Ritchie, who have a home in London, were granted an interim adoption order by Malawi's High Court last month.
Some critics have said it would have been better for the child if Madonna had helped his impoverished father, Yohane Banda, to care for him in Malawi. Madonna has said Banda refused her offer of financial assistance to help him keep his son.
"What Madonna has done is great," said Education Minister Anna Kachikho during a visit Thursday to a school in the Scottish capital.
"Here is Madonna who has picked a son from a Malawian father who has lost a wife and nobody takes care of, and she says, 'I would like to educate and bring home that child.'
"I'm against whatever people are saying against Madonna, if there is credit to give, we should credit Madonna because she is saving the life of this young David. Why condemn Madonna? ... We should thank Madonna," she said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Joyce Banda — no relation to the boy — said Madonna's charity, Raising Malawi, had helped several thousand children in the southeast African nation.
"On top of all that she has opened up her home to this one child. So it's not just about David, it's about her reaching out to Africa, to a country called Malawi, to empower 4,000 children which not many people have done," Banda said. "So the Malawi government is grateful."
The ministers were attending the launch of two Scottish-led training programs aimed at helping teachers from Malawi.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed."
Here are a few excerpts from an article last August on The Age:
Madonna's charity plans were announced in an interview with Time magazine, which itself pointed out that for someone who has never been to Africa "the whole enterprise has the pungent aroma of a coordinated act of publicity".
The fact that orphans at a planned care centre in Malawi will be taught a curriculum based on Spirituality For Kids, a group linked to the Kabbalah school of mysticism to which Madonna adheres, could add to the cynicism.
But to people in Mphandula, where the centre is to be built, such arguments are unimportant.
"All I know is that she is rich and a very compassionate mother. She is our mother now," said village headman Mphandula, who had never heard of Madonna. "It is a gift from God."
...
Like Rosemary Chikanda, mother of four who is HIV positive but cannot access free life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs.
"I don't know Madonna. What I only know is that she is a rich musician who has come to help us," she said in Mphandula.
"Whoever this woman is, God bless her because finally I will have someone to look after my children.
"My husband died five years ago and I know I am next and this centre is my only hope."
