Seriously? OMG! WTF?

A Malawian man who gave up his 13-month-old son to be adopted by Madonna said Sunday he had not realized he was signing away custody "for good." Yohane Banda signed adoption papers earlier this month, clearing the way for a Malawian judge to grant the pop singer and her husband a temporary order to take his son David. "Our understanding was that they would educate and take care of our son just as they were doing at the orphanage," the 32-year-old illiterate peasant farmer told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Lipunga, the village where he ekes out a living growing onions and tomatoes. Until now, Banda has said his decision was in the best interests of his motherless son and criticized local charities who have started legal proceedings to challenge the adoption. Banda said his understanding was that "when David grows up he will return back home to his village." He said the director of Child Welfare Services, Penston Kilembe, and the retired pastor who heads the orphanage where David spent most of his life never told him by "adoption" it meant David will cease to be his son. "If we were told that she wants to take the baby as her own we could not have consented, because I see no reason why I should give away my son," he said. Banda’s wife died shortly after childbirth — a relatively frequent occurrence in the impoverished African nation which suffers from high rates of maternal and infant mortality — and he left his son with the orphanage. He lost two children in infancy to malaria. Banda said he was illiterate and so had no idea of the significance of the adoption papers he signed in the High Court in the capital, Lilongwe. "Mr. Kilembe and the pastor explained to me that Madonna would take care of my son; I am just realizing now the meaning of adoption," he said, claiming that he has no copies of documents pertaining to the adoption. "All the documents are with Mr. Kilembe," he said. Kilembe refused to comment on Sunday. Madonna’s Malawian lawyer Alan Chinula also refused to comment, saying his clients have not given him any fresh instructions, but he insisted the singer followed all the procedures to adopt the child. Critics of the adoption disagree. The Human Rights Consultative Committee, which comprises 67 human rights groups, has challenged the adoption, saying laws concerning the residency of the prospective parents were flouted and that it may set a precedent for human trafficking. Banda’s claims were corroborated by his cousin, Wiseman Zimba, and mother, Asineti Mwale. "Our understanding as family is that David is still part and parcel of our clan," Zimba said. "After the good woman nurtures and educates him, he will return back." Mwale said: "I look forward to telling my grandson how destitute he was after losing his mum at the tender age of three weeks, how we surrendered him to the orphanage and how this good woman took him away." However, the family insisted that it did not want David to return to the orphanage. "We are still thankful Madonna has rescued him from poverty and disease; we pray for the good Lord to keep blessing her for her benevolence," Banda said.

AP 

I wonder if she is going to lose David?

NBC will air Madonna: The Confessions Tour – Live From London after all – but without the scene in which Madonna sings "Live to Tell" while suspended from a giant cross, a rep for the network confirms to PEOPLE. The decision was made in collaboration with Madonna, who is an executive producer of the special, the NBC spokesperson said. Last month, the New York Daily News reported that the crucifixion scene, which has sparked outrage among religious leaders in the U.S. and in Europe, might cause NBC to scrap the planned special. "NBC is awaiting delivery of the special," a network rep told the Daily News at the time. "Once we see it in its entirety, we’ll make a final decision." Madonna has defended the crucifixion scene as part of her appeal to audiences to donate to AIDS charities. "I don’t think Jesus would be mad at me and the message I’m trying to send," she told the Daily News in May. The two-hour concert special will air on Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. ET.

People (Thanks Michael)

I saw the concert and seriously there is nothing wrong with what she does on the cross. I am just not feeling the love for NBC today.

THE father of the boy adopted by Madonna in Malawi has said he never meant to give his son up for good when he sent him to an orphanage after the death of his mother. Peasant farmer Yohane Banda, who can barely read or write, admitted he did not fully understand what was happening when he went to court in his best clothes to see for the first and only time the woman who was offering his 13-month-old son, David, a new life. Mr Yohane’s wife, Marita, 28, died a week after David was born. "(Madonna) was smiling a lot. She told me: ‘Your son is very beautiful…I promise to take very good care of him."’ "I looked into her eyes and said: ‘I want you to look after him well as he is the only one I possess. ‘I want you to keep this boy, raise him, educate him – but you have to know he is my son and he is a Malawian."’ The 30-minute court hearing was conducted in English, with Mr Banda using a translator. He said he had been bewildered by the speed at which David had been put up for adoption. "It has all been crazy. Everything has happened so fast. I can’t believe what’s happening." But he added: "In court, I did understand I was agreeing to give the baby up for adoption." Mr Banda said David had lived in the orphanage since his mother died, but it was always intended he would one day return home. "I took him to the orphanage because he was sick and we could not care for him. "My other two sons had passed away from malaria while they were still young, and when David became very sick I didn’t know how to cope. "My in-laws did not want him and my extended family is too poor to take him in." But it appears David was offered for adoption without his father’s knowledge when his picture was sent, along with those of 12 other "suitable" boy babies, to Madonna by email. Mr Banda said the first he knew about the adoption was on September 30, when two officials from Malawi’s Ministry of Gender and Child Welfare came to his village. "They told me a mzungu (white foreigner) had seen David’s picture and liked him very much. They said she wanted to take him to America. "They said she would give him a better life. At first I wasn’t sure. I asked if it meant I would never see him again. "They said I would be sent pictures, and when David was older he would be able to visit the village. "My family and I agreed this was a very good opportunity for David to get an education and grow up healthy." Mr Banda had never heard of Madonna or her raunchy songs. He was told she was "a very nice Christian lady".

The Daily Telegraph 

I love that he was told she is a very nice Christian lady, guess he does not know about her beliefs in Kabballah. It will be interesting to see if Madonna will be able to adopt David because so many groups are protesting the adoption.

The boy’s father, Yohane Banda, told the Associated Press: "I know he will be very happy in America." Speculation the singer was planning to adopt began when she flew into Malawi and visited several orphanages. Madonna’s publicist initially denied the adoption reports but a spokeswoman has now said an official statement is expected within 48 hours. Mr Banda said: "I am the father of David, who has been adopted. I am very very happy because as you can see there is poverty in this village and I know he will be very well looked after in America." He told reporters that his wife Marita died a month after the baby’s birth from childbirth complications. Since then the child had been cared for at the Home of Hope Orphan Care Centre in Mchinji, a village near the border with Zambia. Madonna said she had travelled to the region with her husband, film-maker Guy Ritchie, to help fight poverty and the problem of HIV and AIDS. A government official in Malawi had claimed Madonna was due to file for adoption papers on arriving in the country last week. The 48-year-old already has two children, five-year-old son Rocco and nine-year-old daughter Lourdes. If the singer has gone ahead with the adoption she follows in the footsteps of Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie.

BBC 

You know she will be a good mom to him.

Madonna plans to adopt a child during her humanitarian mission in Malawi to help orphans and the underprivileged, a government official has said. The pop star and an entourage of 10 people landed on a private plane in the capital Lilongwe with no fanfare. Andrina Mchiela, secretary to the Minister for Gender and Child Welfare, said Madonna planned to adopt a Malawian child during her visit to the southern Africa nation. She is also meant to fund six projects to benefit underprivileged children, including setting up an orphanage. The pop star earlier this year announced plans to raise at least three million dollars (£1.6m) for programmes to support the nearly one million children in Malawi who have lost parents to Aids. Malawi is among the poorest countries in the world, hit by years of drought as well as an Aids epidemic.

Daily Snack 

I hope this not a Hollywood trend and these kids will later be ignored. Although I think Madonna really loves her children and will be a great mom to the child she adopts if she really is adopting a child.

« Previous entries Next entries »