BLANTYRE, Malawi — Madonna's bid to adopt a second child from Malawi has the support of the southern African nation's government, officials revealed Thursday.
"Madonna has been good to us, she is supporting over 25,000 orphans in this country and she has proved that she can take care of David," Malawian Information Minister Patricia Kaliati told Reuters.
The announcement comes as the 50-year-old pop star awaits a ruling Friday on whether she can adopt a 4-year-old girl named Mercy James.
Word broke late last week that Madonna was traveling to Malawi over the weekend with the intention of adopting another child from the impoverished African country. She previously drew criticism when she adopted her 3-year-old son, David Banda, from the country in 2006. Malawian law requires would-be parents to reside in the country for one year before adopting, a rule that was essentially broken in her case.
Madonna's latest plan is also controversial since Malawi does not typically grant adoptions to single or divorced parents, an issue after her recent split from Guy Ritchie. But Kaliati told Reuters that Madonna has gone to great lengths to prove she has the right intentions.
"Very few rich and famous people can take time to fly all the way to Malawi to support our children we support her adoption process," said Kaliati.
In addition to David, Mercy James would join Madonna's two biological children, Lourdes 12, and Rocco, 8.
Madonna first visited Malawi during a charity mission and to film a documentary on the poverty and AIDS crisis there. She runs the charity Raising Malawi and is also establishing a school for girls there.
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