Madonna flies to Africa to pick out her son

Madonna: Has been longing for another baby
11 April 2012
The Weekender

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Madonna has adopted a one-year-old boy from Malawi, government officials there said last night.

The 48-year-old singer is said to have flown to the southern African country by private jet yesterday to 'locate a suitable candidate'.

She apparently chose her little boy from a shortlist of 12 orphans selected prior to her arrival in the capital, Lilongwe.

'She asked us to identify boys only, which we have done after visiting four orphanages in Lilongwe,' government spokesman Adrina Michiela said.

She said Madonna had initially wanted to adopt a girl but had changed her mind two weeks ago.

The singer, who already has a daughter, Lourdes, nine, and son, Rocco, five, has been allowed to bypass the country's ban on nonresident adoptions.

But the child must remain in Malawi for another 18 months while officials assess his suitability for adoption and that of Madonna's family to care for him.

In the meantime, he will be looked after by the Network of Organisations for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children - an organisation set up by Madonna during her stay in the country.

After that time adoption papers will be finalised and he will be allowed to begin a new life in Britain.

Madonna and her husband, director Guy Ritchie, 38, have a townhouse in Marylebone, London and an estate in Wiltshire as well as homes in the U.S.

'According to Malawi laws, a person adopting a child would be expected to stay with the child for 18 months for child welfare officials to assess the suitability of the family before we finalise adoption papers,' said Miss Michiela, principal secretary in the country's ministry for gender and child welfare.

Because Madonna was unable to stay in the country for that length of time, the boy will be cared for by the orphanage she set up.

Orphans there will reportedlybe taught a curriculum based on Spirituality for Kids, a programme linked to Madonna's Kabbalah faith.

She has been keen to expand her family but has struggled to become pregnant again.

She and Ritchie are said to have consulted adoption agencies in Britain and the U.S. before turning to Africa.

Last night Madonna's Los Angeles publicist, Liz Rosenberg denied she had adopted a child. 'She is building an orphanage and child care centre and is involved in other initiatives geared toward helping children orphaned by aids through the Raising Malawi Organisation,' she said. 'She has not adopted a baby.'

Madonna has agreed to pay for six projects to help underprivileged children in Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries, where nearly one million youngsters have lost parents to Aids.

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