Pop star Madonna wants to adopt
another Malawian child, a girl called Grace, despite a storm of
controversy over her efforts to adopt a Malawian boy last year, a
report said Friday.
Citing unnamed sources, the Sun tabloid in London said Madonna was
intent on adopting three-year-old girl Grace after watching a
documentary about a child care home for orphans in the African
country.
"Madonna saw a film of children at a place called The Consol Home,"
The Sun quoted an unidentified source said to be close to the star
as saying.
"She spotted a beautiful girl called Grace who lit the room with
her smile, and fell head over heels for her. Madonna kept saying,
'That girl has so much love in her. I want to help her achieve her
potential'," the source said.
"But adoption officials are being very strict after uproar when
Madonna adopted David. They know Grace is her first choice, but
have insisted she looks at other girls first -- and that the final
decision is theirs."
The granting of an 18-month interim custody order, which enabled
Madonna to take young David Banda out of Malawi last year, sparked
heated debate about adoption laws in a country where the number of
orphans is surging as a result of AIDS.
A legal challenge is now underway from rights groups who claim that
existing legislation in Malawi does not allow for international
adoption.
According to The Sun, Madonna will fly to Malawi on Sunday with her
three children, including David, though her husband Guy Ritchie
will not join them.
"It was always Madonna's intention to adopt two orphans from Malawi
-- a boy and a girl. Grace is healthy, stunning, and has no living
relatives. It was the fact David's dad Yohane was alive and well
that caused most of the problems last time," the source told The
Sun.
David's father, Yohane Banda, was initially quoted as saying he did
not realise his son would be taken out of the country for good, but
later said he supported the adoption.