Madonna visits Malawi

2010-04-05 870


Pop-star Madonna visited a village development project in Gumulira, Malawi earlier.


She was accompanied by her four-year old adopted daughter Mercy and her thirteen-year-old biological daughter Lourdes.


Madonna has founded a charity, Raising Malawi, which helps feed, educate and provide medical care for some of Malawi's more than a million orphans, half of whom have lost a parent to AIDS.


Newspaper reports said Malawian born Mercy would be meeting her natural family during the trip.


Last year Madonna won the right to adopt Mercy after appealing to the highest Malawian court following a lower court ruling that she could not adopt the girl because the singer had not spent enough time in the country.


On Tuesday, Madonna will lay the first brick of her Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, signalling the official commencement of construction of the 15 million U.S. dollar academy, set to open in 2011.