Update on Madonna's Adoption and David's New Siblings
Last October Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie returned to London with little David Banda on an interim adoption. It seems now it's time for the adoption process to proceed as currently Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie are "dreading" an upcoming adoption home study. But this is unlike any home study I've read about. This one lasts for up to five days for five hours a day. Malawi's head of child welfare services, Penston Kilembe, will be the one conducting the home study. He is very concerned with how the family's star status will affect the child and will also grill Madonna and Guy on infidelity, alcohol consumption, divorce, and infertility. It seems that Malawi is a very conservative country. Kilembe will want to observe what family life is like for the Ritchie clan and see that David has bonded with his new family. The home study is scheduled to take place sometime in August. Mr Kilembe will advise the Malawian High Court, which is expected to make a decision after hearing evidence from all parties. From what Kilembe has said in interviews, it appears that his decision will be what the court will go with.
Also, almost as a side note, one article stated that Madonna is also adopting a little African girl named Grace. I haven't seen any more information on this adoption.
In related news, David's birth dad, 32-year-old peasant farmer,Yohane Banda, is expecting another child with his new wife, 22-year-old Flora. While it is reported that Mr. Banda has no regrets in placing David for adoption, he is hoping for another boy to "replace David". (Yuck. I hope that this is just a really rough translation. It just sounds icky.) This will be Mr. Banda's fourth child. The first two died before the age of two, and the third, David, was placed in an orphanage after the death of his wife due to childbirth complications. Flora also has a two-year-old daughter, Tiyamike, from a previous marriage. Mr. Banda is planning on this child being born in a hospital and not at home. His other children were born at home. Malawi has one of the worst rates of infant mortality at 79 deaths per 1,000 live births. I wish this couple well with their new addition.
SOURCES:Madonna's five days of judgment on adoption of baby David - Daily Mail
Adoption check for Madonna - iafrica.com
Madonna seeks formal adoption of African boy - Jamaica Gleaner
I'm going to have another baby, says father of Madonna's adopted son - Daily Mail
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I still wonder about the motives behind Madonna and other celebrities wanting to adopt orphans from third world countries. Is it purely for publicity or is it compassion? Unfortunately I believe the overriding motive is publicity.
It does make you wonder doesn’t it?
I for one am really looking forward to when these kids are in the late teens or early twenties and start to talk about their growing up years.
I wonder if there will be another Christina Crawford in the bunch? “No more wire hangers” and so forth.