Madonna Makes Personal Appeal

Madonna and her four children are spending the week before Halloween in the southeast African nation of Malawi, a place about as far removed from the privileged world where they normally live as they can get. And although the singer could probably single-handedly raise the standard of living in the country of 13 million, she’s asking fans to get involved.

On Monday, Madge helped break ground for the construction of a much needed secondary school, the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, in Chinkhota, a village about 15 kilometers from the country’s capital of Lilongwe.

The school is expected to take two years to build at an estimated cost of $15 million and will provide an education for 450 girls.

Madonna has already donated a sizeable chunk of money to Raising Malawi, an organization she co-founded in 2008 to help improve the conditions the country’s one million orphans live in, but her goal now is to get the public to contribute.

Photo: AP Photo

Madonna plants a tree Oct. 26 during a groundbreaking ceremony in Chinkhota, Malawi.

The singer made the appeal yesterday on HuffingtonPost.com, noting that she’s pledged $100,000 to match fan contributions dollar-for-dollar.

“I’m making a straightforward request. I’m writing to urge you to join me in saving the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable children. And I’m asking you to do it right away. …

“Why Malawi? Seven years ago I might have asked myself this very same question. Why not Afghanistan, or India? There are impoverished children, desperate for health care and education, everywhere in the world. Something about Malawi’s children connected with me and their hardships were too much for me to ignore. So I started learning more about Malawi, and, little by little, I began working with the Malawians to improve their communities. …

“My own daughters will each have a solid secondary education. They have a family that assures them that they can be anything they want to be, that they are not limited in any way. I believe that the same should be true for girls in every part of the world, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. The girls of Malawi are bright and resourceful. They are eager to learn and grow. When I look at my girls and see them thriving, it is my greatest wish that the girls in Malawi will have the same chance for happiness. …

“This is my call to you: Give an opportunity to a child who would otherwise have none. Support the work of Raising Malawi.”

Two of Madonna’s four children, David Banda and Chifundo “Mercy” James were adopted from Malawi, one of the poorest nations in the world.

The singer’s concern over the country’s problems also led her to make a documentary, “I Am Because We Are,” aimed at shining a spotlight on the poverty and diseases like AIDS that plague its children.

Read Madonna’s complete appeal here or watch her video appeal below.

For more information on Raising Malawi or to contribute, visit RaisingMalawi.org.

Watch “I Am Because We Are.”