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Madonna Recalls Emotional Fight to Adopt Daughter Mercy James: ‘I Never Gave Up’

 

http://people.com/babies/madonna-how-she-fought-to-adopt-daughter-mercy-james/

 

Nearly eight years ago, Madonna went up against Malawi’s highest court to win the right to adopt then-4-year-old Mercy James.

 

Fast forward to today, the songstress opened the country’s first-ever pediatric surgery and intensive care center, which she named The Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care, after her now-11-year-old daughter.

 

At the opening ceremony on Tuesday, Madonna recalled the emotional three-and-a-half year journey she went through to call Mercy her own after she had successfully adopted son David Banda in 2006.

 

“I met Mercy soon after I met my son David, but they were living in different orphanages. David was in Mchinji in Home of Hope, and Mercy was here in Blantyre at Kondanani. Mercy was suffering from malaria, and David from pneumonia. And when I held each of them in my arms, I whispered in their ears, that I would look after them. And I promised them that they would grow up into strong and healthy adults,†Madonna told the audience at the Queen Central Hospital.

 

“I was granted permission to adopt David first. And some time later, I filed a petition to adopt Mercy. But this time, the judge who was presiding said no. I was recently divorced, and she informed me, as a divorced woman, I was not fit to raise children and that Mercy James was better off growing up in an orphanage,†the seven-time Grammy winner continued.

 

The adoption raised strong public reaction because Malawian law requires would-be parents to reside in Malawi for one year before adopting, which Madonna did not do. In addition, she was in the process of legally separating from second husband Guy Ritchie, citing irreconcilable differences. Mercy was placed at Children’s Village following the death of her teenage mother.

 

“If you know me, you can imagine how I received this information. It’s true, I am a freedom fighter. I am a feminist. I am a rebel heart. But I am also a compassionate and intelligent human being. And if you cannot give me a logical reason for the word ‘no,’ then I will not accept the word ‘no.’ I hired a team of lawyers, and I took my case to the supreme court, and it was not an easy battle,†Madonna said in her moving speech.

 

“The adoption laws in Malawi had not been reformed since the early ’40s, and it had not occurred to anyone to change them yet. So my argument was that women have been raising children for centuries, on their own … not to mention the fact that I was doing just fine raising my own three children,†she said.

 

David’s adoption had been rushed through because a court had granted an interim order, but Madonna faced more judicial pushback in Mercy’s case.

 

 

 

“I never gave up. And I never backed down. And I believe that if you want something badly enough in life, the universe will conspire to help you get it. It may not be exactly when you want it, it may not come exactly when you think it’s gonna come. It may not come in the package that you want it. But if you persevere, you will win,†the entertainer emphasized.

 

Concluding, “I fought for Mercy, and I won. It wasn’t easy. And with the blood, sweat, and tears of so many people here today, we fought for this hospital—and we won. So I’m here to say: never, ever give up on your dreams. Never stop fighting for what you believe in. And finally: Love conquers all.â€

 

All of Madonna’s six children, except daughter Lourdes, were at Tuesday’s ceremony. David Banda danced with kids from the Jacaranda School for Orphans, Rocco painted a mural in the hospital and Mercy James gave a speech, calling her mom “the bomb†— and then dabbed at the end.

 

Madonna said the center has been up and running since the end of June, and the first surgery was completed last week, nearly two years after construction began on the center in 2015. The facility includes three operating rooms for children’s surgery, as well as a day clinic and a ward with 45 beds.

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President Mutharika’s Speech Upon Opening Madonna’s Mercy James Children Hospital (11-07-2017)

 

I am here to tell the world that what Madonna has done is what Africa has always done. Madonna is a symbol of a motherly spirit and an African communal spirit. In Africa, we have always lived by the collective spirit of supporting those in need.

 

Madonna came and offered to be the mother of four children from Malawi. She came, she saw a need, and she found a cause. Today, she has offered more like a mother for the rest of our children. She has given us a Centre that will provide and care for the rest of our children.

 

To Madonna, I say – you began by adopting four of our children. And I end by offering to adopt you as a daughter of the land.

 

Full article @ http://www.malawivoice.com/president-mutharikas-speech-upon-opening-madonnas-mercy-james-children-hospital-11-07-2017/

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All the Biggest Moments From Madonna's Decade-Plus of Charity Work in Malawi

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7865129/madonna-malawi-charity-work-10-years-highlights

 

Madonna dances as Malawi's first lady Gertrude Mutharika looks on during the opening ceremony of the Mercy James Children's Hospital at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, on July 11, 2017.

 

More than a decade of charity work in Malawi came full-circle for Madonna on Tuesday (July 11) when, after opening a children's hospital wing in the impoverished South African country, its president named the pop star "the daughter of this nation."

 

And while President Peter Mutharika's phrasing was meant to reference Madonna's own adoption of four children from Malawi, the singer has tight enough connections of her own to the country for it to feel like home. Since founding the nonprofit Raising Malawi in 2006, the charitable star has led a continuous effort to support the nation's orphaned or otherwise vulnerable children -- whether through hosting benefits, producing a documentary and, now, opening the Mercy James Institute of Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care, the first of its kind in the country.

 

The singer's efforts haven't come without inevitable road blocks -- not to mention a few controversies. But if our roundup of the landmark moments in Madonna's charity efforts in the African country is any indication, the singer will continue to be a "daughter" of Malawi for years to come.

 

2006: Madonna makes her first trip to Malawi

Madonna was first spurred to visit the South African nation after a Malawian businesswoman, admiring Madonna's previous work with the nonprofit Spirituality for Kids, reached out to the pop star in hopes that she'd be willing to offer a hand in Malawi too. Madonna did much more than that -- shortly after taking up the invitation, the singer made a second trip to Malawi, where she adopted her son David. It wasn't long before Madonna would take a bigger step toward aiding the poverty-stricken country with the founding of Raising Malawi.

 

 

2008: Raising Malawi holds star-packed fundraiser at United Nations headquarters

 

Celebrities like Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez and Tom Cruise forked over up to $10,000 each to attend a Madonna-fronted fundraiser at the United Nations' New York headquarters back in 2008. Though the pop star faced backlash for her choice of event partner -- Gucci, which was promoting a new store in the city at the time -- the event reportedly raised $3.7 million, which was split between benefiting Raising Malawi and Unicef, the children's arm of the UN.

 

 

2008: Madonna presents I Am Because We Are documentary

 

That same year, the pop star took her charity work to the big screen with I Am Because We Are, a documentary she wrote and produced for the Tribeca Film Festival. Directed by first-timer Nathan Rissman, the film follows Madonna as she journeys through Malawi, introducing viewers to the country's orphaned children and gleaning insights from interviews with professors, experts and even former President Bill Clinton.

 

 

2013: Madonna opens 10 schools in Malawi in partnership with buildOn

 

In January 2012, international youth-serving nonprofit buildOn announced a partnership with Madonna and her foundation to construct 10 primary schools in rural Malawi within 18 months. In fact, the schools were completed in just 12 months. Raising Malawi provided $300,000 to buildOn for the project, which aimed to serve about 1,000 boys and girls in the nation. The success came after a string of setbacks -- earlier in 2011, Madonna's organization had scrapped plans to build a $15 million girls' school in the country due to financial mismanagement.

 

https://vimeo.com/59851503

 

2014: Malawi President Peter Mutharika appoints Madonna the country's Goodwill ambassador for child welfare

 

Shortly after Madonna spent Thanksgiving in Malawi with her adopted Malawian children, Mercy James and David Banda, Mutharika added a new title to Madonna's belt: the nation's Goodwill ambassador for child welfare. At the time, the singer had also just launched her now-fulfilled goal to open the Mercy James Institute -- and was still recovering from the tabloid mess that ensued after her very public falling-out with Malawi's former president, Joyce Banda.

 

https://instagram.com/p/wCiVBzGEdw/

 

2016: Madonna flies to Malawi to check in on Mercy James Institute construction

The singer and several Rising Malawi team members took a trip to Malawi last year to ensure that the Mercy James Institute was coming along smoothly. During the trip, they also met with Muthrika to discuss girls' education and visited the Home of Hope orphanage, where they played soccer with the school's children. "Children are the future," Madonna says in a video documenting the trip (below). "Ultimately, my children have been my teachers."

 

 

2016: Madonna's "Evening of Art, Mischief, and Music" rakes in $7.5 million for Raising Malawi

 

A benefit held by Madonna in Miami last winter -- and held smack in the middle of the city's annual Art Basel fair -- invited 450 guests to bid on art and experiences in a live auction. The event raised $7.5 million toward Raising Malawi's goal to open the Mercy James Institute. To thank attendees for their donations, the glamorous party closed with a performance by Madonna herself.

 

https://instagram.com/p/BNmzmy-Ds4C/

 

2017: Raising Malawi's Mercy James Institute children's hospital wing opens its doors

 

The pediatric surgery and intensive care unit, named after one of Madonna's adopted Malawian children, finally celebrated its official opening July 11. Located at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in the city of Blantyre, the institute has already completed its first surgery, Madonna said at the ceremony, where she was praised by Mutharika for her service. "You started by adopting four Malawian children," he explained. "Now we are adopting you as the daughter of this nation."

 

https://instagram.com/p/BWXG2twBbmR/

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