Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

Madonna leaves Malawi after week's charity tour

LILONGWE, Malawi (AP) - Madonna has left Malawi after a nearly weeklong visit with her family, airport and charity officials said Saturday.

Officials said Madonna flew out of the southern African country on Friday. The 51-year-old celebrity arrived in the impoverished country on Sunday accompanied by her four children - daughters Lourdes and Mercy, and sons Rocco and David. Mercy and David were adopted from Malawi.

While in Malawi, she broke ground for her $15 million Raising Malawi Academy for Girls and visited the orphanage that cared for her son David before she adopted him.

Madonna's Raising Malawi, a charity founded in 2006 when she first visited the country, helps feed, educate and provide medical care for some of Malawi's orphans.

Malawi, a nation of 12 million, is one of the poorest countries in the world. About 500,000 children have lost a parent to AIDS.

2009-10-31     17:30:26 GMT

Copyright 2009. The Associated Press All Rights Reserved.
The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Ads by FindLaw

Legal News