Madonna: 'Adoption is nobody else's business'
31 March 2009
MADONNA has hit out at critics who have slammed her bid to adopt Malawian orphan MERCY JAMES - insisting it is "none of their business".
The pop superstar has confirmed she will file adoption papers in the country's court this week to legally adopt a second child, believed to be four-year-old James, whose 18-year-old mother died five days after giving birth to her.
But the bid has been hit by opposition from officials - as well as the girl's family.
Mercy's grandmother, Lucy Chekechiwa, 61, says, "Why doesn't this singer pick other children? It is stealing. I want to go to court, I won't let her go."
And U.K.-based charity Save The Children also claim it is best for a child to remain in their homeland surrounded by their extended family.
The singer arrived in the country over the weekend (begs28Mar09) with her 12-year-old daughter Lourdes and three-year-old-David Banda, who she adopted from the African country in 2006.
Madonna and Lourdes were spotted visiting a plot of land in Chinkhota Village, which the 50-year-old has purchased to construct a girls' school.
The singer declared it felt "amazing" to be visiting the village where she would be helping so many youngsters in the future.
But when asked by a journalist for Britain's ITV News if she could understand the reservations held by some over her adoption bid, she retorted, "No. It's none of their business."
The visit was an emotional experience not only for the pop star, but also for the father of her adopted son.
Yohane Banda was granted a visit with his biological child David on Sunday (29Mar09) at the country's upmarket Kumbali lodge - the first time he had seen his biological child in over two years.
An employee at the lodge tells Britain's The Times newspaper, "He (Yohane) was hopping from foot to foot, you could see he was very happy. He had been waiting here all morning, you could see he was over the moon when Madonna arrived with David, but the reunion itself was private."
