Look To The Stars News: Raising Malawi

Madonna Promises Electricity To Village

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:30:00 -0000

During her visit to Malawi last week, Madonna promised electricity to a village that has never been able to have power.

“I know you work in darkness,” she told villagers in Mphandula. “I will bring you electricity.”

The singer was in the country – one of the poorest in the world – to oversee the start of construction of a new girl’s school her charity, Raising Malawi, is building.

The organization has already donated $500,000 for a child care center in the village – a facility that now feeds and educates 3,000 orphans.

Madonna In Malawi For New Girl's School

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Madonna is in Malawi to lay the foundation stone of a new girls’ school she is building with her charity, Raising Malawi.

“Our vision for the school is to empower girls to become Malawi’s future leaders,” blogged the singer on the charity’s website. "Our goal is to teach them to challenge themselves, serve their local communities and develop their country. We created this vision in partnership with the local Malawian Ministry of Education, and other educational experts from Malawi, Sub-Sharan African and elsewhere around the world.

“We are developing and using innovative educational approaches, cutting-edge architectural design methods, and other modern technologies, which we hope, will become a replicable model for girls secondary school education.”

The school is expected to cost $15 million, and the cause is close to Madonna’s heart. She is a member of Raising Malawi’s Advisory Committee, and helps with the volunteer organisation’s mission to help orphans by providing water, food, medical care and schooling.

“Research proves that young girls throughout the developing world are often left without opportunities to receive a comprehensive education and the benefits that education can provide,” she wrote. "It’s an honor for me to be able to help as many of these girls as I can achieve their dreams.

“I’m also incredibly proud of all the projects Raising Malawi is involved in and I look forward to visiting a number of them during my visit.”

Madonna will also meet President Bingu wa Mutharika during her trip. The ceremony will take place on Monday, October 26 at 3:00 p.m. on the future site of the Academy.

Madonna Book To Raise Funds For Malawi

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:30:00 -0000

Madonna’s charity Raising Malawi is launching a new book – I Am Because We Are – and an online auction on April 2nd to benefit children in Malawi, a country of only 13 million people, yet home to over 1 million AIDS orphans.

The auction will kick off with the release of I Am Because We Are, a poignant new book of images and testimonials of AIDS orphans and their families by award-winning photojournalist Kristen Ashburn. The book features images taken by Ashburn for Madonna’s feature documentary of the same name as well as her work documenting the pandemic throughout southern Africa over the last decade. All author proceeds from the book sales and the auction will go to Raising Malawi and The Raising Malawi Academy for Girls.

“It never ceases to amaze me that there is a complete disconnect between our daily lives and the severity of the pandemic in Africa,” says photographer Ashburn, whose large black and white portraits of AIDS orphans and struggling families will be displayed at the event.

With the global financial crisis taking a heavy toll on sources of funding that sustain the work of charities in Africa, the new I Am Because We Are book campaign seeks to expand that base. The book raises awareness of the crisis by introducing readers to the stories of children living with the effects of HIV/AIDS, and acts as a fundraising tool, because with each book sold, money goes to Raising Malawi.

“This book is a call to action,” says singer, songwriter John Legend.

An April 2nd book launch event at PowerHouse Arena in Dumbo, Brooklyn, will kick-off the book and the online auction. The collection of items on auction will include a number of one-of-a-kind items contributed by Madonna and her inner circle. The bidding begins April 2 on eBay , and remains open to a global audience through April 12. The auction can be accessed here.

In addition, a photo exhibition of Ashburn’s work is open to the public at the PowerHouse Arena throughout the month of April. More information about the book can be found at www.iambecausewearebook.com.

Ashton Kutcher Praises Demi Moore's Compassion

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Ashton Kutcher has spoken to Tyra Banks about what he finds beautiful about his wife, Demi Moore.

“I think the most beautiful quality that she has is just her capacity to give to others,” said the 30-year-old star. “She’s always thinking about somebody else… The first moment I recognized her beauty was just listening to her talk to her daughters, my stepdaughters over the phone. The compassion she shares. To me was breathtaking. It was the first time I realized how special she was in that moment.”

Both Kutcher and Moore are well known for their charity work, and spent a week together in Central America last year building homes for the disadvantaged. In 2006, Kutcher announced he would donate one dollar to Habitat For Humanity for each of the first 50,000 MySpace users who add him as a friend. The pair also attended Madonna’s gala event at UN Headquarters for Raising Malawi last year.

Madonna To Donate Damages To Charity

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:00:00 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

Madonna won a High Court case against the Mail on Sunday and will donate damages to her charity, Raising Malawi.

The singer claimed close to $9 million in damages in a case involving private photographs of her wedding to film director Guy Richie. A court hearing will be held next year to determine the amount of damages she will actually receive.

Madonna’s adopted three-year-old, David Banda, is from Malawi, which in part prompted her to establish Raising Malawi to help children orphaned by the Aids epidemic in the African country.

Madonna Films Video Plea For Malawi

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Pop star Madonna has recorded a short video message about the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls and posted it on her website.

“After witnessing the potential of Malawi’s girls firsthand, I made it my mission to give them an opportunity to become their personal best,” wrote the singer on her website. “I hope you will share my urgency and make a donation today. Every donation counts toward helping impoverished girls to reach their full potential. And every dollar will make a difference.”

The Raising Malawi Academy for Girls is dedicated to providing impoverished young women from all over Malawi with the opportunity to become their personal best. The girls who attend the Academy will develop the skills and character traits necessary to lead their communities from perpetual despair to complete self-reliance.

“After witnessing the potential of Malawi’s girls firsthand, I made it my mission to give them an opportunity to become their personal best,” said Madonna in the video, which is shot in a hotel room. “There are very few girls in Africa in general who are encouraged or allowed to go to secondary schools so, after spending a lot of time there, I realised that one of the ways I could help was to build a girls school… Please visit our website. I would appreciate any help you could give us.”

A-Rod To Donate To Madonna's Charity

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Baseball star Alex Rodriguez – also known as A-Rod – is reported to have made a large donation to Madonna’s charity for children in Malawi.

Rodriguez – third baseman for the New York Yankees – is said to have given $500,000 to Raising Malawi, a charity the singer established to help the African nation’s one million orphans gain access to food, education and medical care.

“Obviously when you’re talking about donors, these are private things,” said the charity’s director, Philippe van den Bossche. “I would never reveal information about any donor.”

The money is expected to be used to help build a new school in the impoverished country.

“We’re building a girls’ school, which will bring the best resources from around the world with a specific focus on medicine, education and the law,” said van den Bossche. “It will be based on the British system – as is taught in private schools Madonna’s children Lourdes and Rocco attend… We want programs that can be copied in developing countries throughout the world. Not just a celebrity one-off.”

Madonna’s Malawi Efforts Get Multiple Recognition

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:30:00 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Malawi is awarding Madonna with citizenship in honor of the work she’s done through her charity, Raising Malawi, for AIDS orphans of the impoverished country.

However, Malawi’s government offices aren’t the only ones noticing Madonna’s work. Michael Moore asked to show her new film, I am Because We Are, at the Traverse City Film Festival and for her to attend the showing in person.

“She said she’d be thrilled to come here and be part of the film festival,” said Moore. “We were pleasantly surprised.”

The documentary, written, produced and narrated by Madonna, follows her through Malawi, a country devastated by poverty and AIDS, exploring the lives of the orphans. The message, though, is optimistic: there is hope. No child without vision has a future – this future exists when children believe “they are their own potential.”

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton, activist Jeffrey Sachs, Archbishop Desmund Tutu and various experts are also interviewed.

“When I saw it, I thought, ‘Wow, it’s like she’s been making these films for years,’” said Moore. “She takes the viewer through a very personal journey and tries to connect us, living here in the U.S., giving us a window into the way it is for other people in the world. You understand very clearly why she’s devoted so much of her life to the people of Malawi.”

“The film is a labor of love and I am happy that I can bring it home to my roots,” Madonna told The Associated Press. “I am also honored that the film will be screening at this particular festival arranged by Michael, as he is a genius and I am a huge fan.”

The Traverse City Film Festival will run July 29 through August 3. Madonna will introduce I am Because We Are, playing at 8:00 p.m. August 2 at the State Theatre, and take questions from the audience afterwards. Proceeds of the $25 tickets will go to the Raising Malawi foundation.

A Little Madonna Madness

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:05:26 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

“Strike a pose, there’s nothing to it, grab a globe, and then donate it to charity…” OK, so it may not rhyme and it may not live up to the songwriting standards of modern music, but it does explain what Madonna is up to over at eBay this week.

Starting today, one lucky bidder will get into the groove and thank their lucky star when the Material Girl auctions off the polystyrene and plaster globe she posed beside on the upcoming May cover of Vanity Fair magazine.

The singer has signed the globe and also drawn a heart around Africa – almost like a borderline. Proceeds from the auction will benefit her Raising Malawi organization, a charity she established to raise money for one of the poorest nations in the world.

As an added bonus, which any Madonna fan will cherish, the Queen of Pop is also auctioning two tickets for a show in New York later this month, including accommodation and dinner. Fans are guaranteed to want to live to tell about the holiday experience, which will be like a prayer come true.

So open your heart, express yourself, and try to count exactly how many Madonna song titles I just included in that story…

Madonna And Friends Shine A Light On Malawi

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:23:58 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

If you were to look on a map, you could be excused for missing Malawi completely. Bordered by Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique in South East Africa, the nation of Malawi is shaped like a lightning bolt, with much of its land area covered by a massive lake. But it a country that is in dire need of help, and a host of celebrities turned out to a dazzling evening of fun on Wednesday, February 6, to raise awareness for what is one of the poorest countries in the world.

The gala event was hosted by Madonna on the lawns of the United Nations Headquarters in New York, with the $3.7 million raised going to UNICEF and her own Raising Malawi organization. A long list of stars, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Lopez, Tea Leoni, Lucy Liu, Billy Joel, Gwen Stefani, and Djimon Hounsou, attended the event, with tickets ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. The evening also featured performances by Alicia Keys, Timbaland, and Rihanna.

“I want to put Raising Malawi on the map,” said Madonna. “I want credibility as a philanthropic organisation. I want to inspire people. I don’t want them to just write me a cheque: I want them to give me a piece of their heart.”

Comedian Chris Rock hosted an auction during the evening, which featured some exciting items donated by celebrity guests. Priceless, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities were up for grabs, such as a dance class with Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow (which sold for $600,000), and a trip to Château Latour – including lunch with Salma Hayek – which was sold to Donald Trump for $120,000.

Tom Cruise, who attended the event with wife Katie Holmes, narrowly missed out on buying a sports package that included baseball practice with Yankee Alex Rodriguez and soccer practice with David Beckham.

“It was an extraordinary evening,” said Cruise. “The whole evening was quite moving. [Saving Malawi] is an absolute necessity.”

Saving Malawi was co-founded by Madonna in 2006, after she witnessed the plight of the country firsthand. And it is a plight she hopes to make more people aware of.

Recent UNICEF figures state that almost 1 million people in Malawi (whose total population is 13 million) suffer from HIV/AIDS, including 83,000 children. 267 people are infected with the virus every day, and half of the country’s 1 million orphans have lost their parents to the disease.

It is a country where 48% of children are severely malnourished, and many are subjected to the horrors of exploitation. The infant and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world, and 133 children out of 1000 die before they reach the age of five. They suffer from lack of food, shelter, clothing, education, clean water and sanitation, as well as basic medical services, and the average life expectancy is only 37 years.

Raising Malawi hopes to ease the suffering of the children of Malawi by providing smart solutions to the most challenging problems. Instead of just throwing money at the nightmare, they provide grassroots initiatives in the way of healthcare, education, and agriculture at a community level. To do this, they have partnered with some of the best organizations that work in the country, including the Millennium Promise Alliance, the Network of Organizations for Vulnerable and Orphan Children, and Spirituality for Kids.

One of Raising Malawi’s greatest initiatives is the Orphan Care Center recently built in the village of Mphandula. Designed to serve 4000 children, it provides a safe haven for orphans, and supplies nutritious meals, basic education, and crucial life skills. Along with programs to introduce solar power, clean water systems, and self-sustenance, Madonna hopes the Orphan Care Center will help Malawi overcome its problems.

“I’ve earned a reputation for many things,” said Madonna during Wednesday’s gala evening. "For pushing the envelope, for being a provocateur, for never taking no for an answer, for endlessly reinventing myself, for being a cult member, a kidnapper, for being ambitious, outrageous, and irreverent. And for never settling for second best. I don’t just want you to write me a check. I’m more interested in your heart. I want to take you on that journey with me tonight. I want you to feel as inspired as I do right now.

“Yes, I want to raise Malawi. But if I can do that – if we can do that – then the sky’s the limit.”

Madonna To Headline Charity Event

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 10:54:12 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

One of the most well-known names in show business is teaming up with one of the biggest names in fashion for a fund raising event expected to generate millions of dollars to revitalize the lives of orphans and vulnerable children in the African nation of Malawi.

Madonna has joined forces with Gucci to prove she is not just a material girl, and will headline a special gala and show on February 6, 2008. The event will benefit UNICEF and Raising Malawi, the charity the singer co-founded in 2006, and will focus on ending the poverty and hardship suffered by Malawi’s 1 million orphans, many of whom have had parents die from the AIDS pandemic.

To help with the event, which is expected to raise over $2 million for the cause, Madonna has enlisted the help of her many friends as co-chairs, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Lucy Liu, Salma Hayek, Tea Leoni, Adrien Brody, Arpad Busson, and Francois-Henri Pinault.

“I am grateful that Gucci is joining forces with me to bring attention to a country with millions of children in desperate need of our help,” said Madonna when the event was announced. “Raising Malawi has already done tremendous work in helping these children. But we have much more to do, and this event will surely bring us closer to our goal.”

Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie are currently embroiled in a bid to adopt a young child from Malawi, 13-month-old David Banda. However, the adoption attempt has been the centre of much controversy, especially from human rights groups who have accused the singer of trying to get around the country’s laws by using her fame and wealth. The 49-year-old denies the allegations, and a hearing at Malawi’s High Court will be held in 2008 to decide whether the couple are suitable parents and should be allowed to welcome the child into their family.

Raising Malawi was established to assist the African country with its poor public health record and high AIDS rate – it is estimated that 12% of the population between the age of 15-49 suffer from the disease.

“Every day, 6000 children lose a parent to AIDS,” said Caryl Stern, president and CEO of the US Fund for UNICEF, who also thanked Madonna and Gucci for organizing the gala event. “Every day, 1400 children die from AIDS.”

Gucci has been a UNICEF corporate partner since 2004, and the event in February will also celebrate the opening of the biggest Gucci store on the planet, situated on New York’s Fifth Avenue.

Vanity Fair Charity Issue Edited By Bono

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 12:35:00 -0000

Written by Saskia Akyil

Bono is putting his philanthropic energy into Vanity Fair’s July 2007 special issue about Africa. The issue has 20 different cover photos of high-profile individuals, all taken by renowned photographer Annie Liebowitz.

The magazine includes information about the issues and charities supported by actors, athletes, models, politicians, musicians, activists, and billionaire philanthropists, all of whom are using their celebrity status and the publicity they receive to bring attention to the complex set of problems faced by the inhabitants of Africa.

Africa is a continent with great need, and has been given a disproportionately low amount of attention and aid from wealthy nations. It is the first Vanity Fair issue to have a guest editor, and Bono’s highly publicized commitment to aiding Africa makes him an obvious choice for editor of this issue. In recent years, celebrities have used their status to bring a great deal of attention to Africa.

The covers of the Africa issue include portraits of: Bono, Barack Obama, Queen Rania, George Bush, Condaleeza Rice, Muhammad Ali, Desmond Tutu, Brad Pitt, Djimon Hounsou, Madonna, Maya Angelou, Chris Rock, Warren Buffett, Melinda & Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Iman, and Don Cheadle.

The issue features numerous in-depth articles about a variety of subjects concerning Africa, including: Kenya; Desmond Tutu and the fight for equality in South Africa and worldwide; Tunisia’s success and the threat of Islamic extremism; the role of China in fueling some of the conflict in Africa; Jeffrey Sachs dream of how to eradicate extreme poverty; the consumer-action strategy of (Product) Red to make miracle AIDS treatment drugs accessible to the millions who need them; the role of the Congo’s blacklisted airline pilots in keeping trade flowing; Bill Clinton’s stories of Nelson Mandela; African music; Africans defying the status quo of poverty, disease, and corruption; suggestions for platform topics for the US 2008 presidential election; the genetic data that links all people on Earth to Africa; identifying the current literary talents of Africa; Princess Diana’s post-divorce charity work, in particular her mission to ban land mines; and the Africa connection of the high-profile individuals on Vanity Fair’s July 2007 issue covers.

The Vanity Fair website offers links and information about Africa, charities that benefit the continent, and full-text versions of some of the articles.

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