The American singer, who adopted to children from the African country, has once again brought discord to the people of Malawi.
This time, some 140 Malawians are insisting that their government stop Madonna’s plans to build a new school. The people claim that the site of the school was sold to Madonna for a less-than appropriate price.
For the past month, construction has been underway in Malawi. If the plans for the school go well, Madonna has pledged to finance other schools in the country. When it opens its doors in two years, the school will welcome 500 young girls from 28 districts. The whole project is estimated to cost $15 million.
Opponents of the project are not against the construction of the school itself, but rather the fact that the land should have been sold for a higher price. The government contends that the land was sold for a fair market value price.
In 2006, Madonna adopted a 13-month-old baby boy, David Banda, from the country. Last June, she adopted a second child, a four-year-old girl named Mercy James.
Malawi is facing a serious problem of orphans, as 13 million children have lost parents to AIDS.