Madonna's Plan to Build Malawi School Falls Apart

By Christine Fenno Posted Mar 26th 2011 10:12AM

A charity launched by Madonna is floundering after nearly $4 million was spent, with little to show for it, on plans to build a school in the impoverished African nation of Malawi.

Madonna has made regular visits to the country for her Raising Malawi foundation, to which she gave $11 million; she also adopted her youngest children David and Mercy in Malawi.

But now, the pop star's dream of building a $15 million school to educate approximately 400 girls has officially collapsed, according to the New York Times.

"A thoughtful decision has been made to discontinue plans for the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, as it was originally conceived," Michael Berg said Thursday in an email to donors who supported the project. Berg is co-director of Los Angeles' Kabbalah Centre, and co-founder of Raising Malawi.

The foundation's board of directors has been replaced by Madonna and her manager, who join a newly formed "caretaker board."

Concerns of financial mismanagement arose in recent months. Cars, golf memberships, and a chauffeur for the school's director were described by auditors as "outlandish" wastes of money.

In a statement Thursday, Madonna said: "There's a real education crisis in Malawi....67 percent of girls don't go to secondary school, and this is simply unacceptable. Our team is going to work hard to address this in every way we can." In acknowledgment of her charity's failings, she said, "I'm frustrated that our education work has not moved forward in a faster way."

Government authorities in Malawi already displaced hundreds of locals from Chinkhota village, near the capitol city of Lilongwe, to accommodate construction of the school. Madonna's camp has yet to explain why she failed to act earlier on the crisis within her organization, which has raised $18 million so far. The Times was told Madonna was directing a movie about British royals, and therefore unavailable for an interview about the latest Raising Malawi news.

Meanwhile, the charity insists that Raising Malawi will not disband, but will redirect how it uses funds to help the poor in Malawi.

The Global Philanthropy Group says it advised Madonna months ago that millions were being ineffectively spent by her charity, and suggested she finance existing education programs instead of trying to launch a new school.

Trevor Neilson of the Global Philanthropy Group studied Raising Malawi's mistakes and told the Times, "Despite $3.8 million having been spent....the project has not broken ground, there was no title to the land and there was, over all, a startling lack of accountability on the part of the management team in Malawi and the management team in the United States." He added, "We have yet to determine exactly what happened to all of that $3.8 million. We have not accounted for all the funds that were used."

Tags: madonna, malawi

Comments

(50)

Saturday 26 March

By William

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Gee, more post-apartheid corruption, greed, avarice and thievery. So, how's that home rule thing working out for you?

By New York

All I can think of is how people here in the USA could put that 11 million to good use while we are going through the worst economic times since the depression. So many are hungry, homeless, sick, jobless right here in America where Americans helped make these stars the millionaires they are today. This may be a sign. Charity begins at home.

By Bing

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send more money....they poor

KEEP MONEY HERE. WE POOR.

Sunday 27 March

By Ted

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Yeah, except they obviously can't manage the money, it always gets in the wrong hands. The people who need it the most won't see it.

By Msmich

Millions of dollars and she hires the boy friend of her personal trainer! Sounds like good business sense to me. I have also seen how well those Kaballah leaders live. I would trust them with my money also. NOT!

By Linda

I'm not impressed with celebrities who want to fund school's, food programs, etc. overseas. We have the same crisis going on here in the US. Why dont they see the need right here in their own backyard?? Instead they act like they want to "Save the World" when children right here in the US need help too. To Angie and Brad, to Madonna, You want to help children why not start right here in the USA!! Adobt an American child. Start a school for homeless, orphaned, and abused children right here. WTF is wrong with you? Arent our children in crisis important enough for you??

By Tigger

Are you a fornicating professor ???

By Randy

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Why don't we help America first and then worry about everyone else? Japan wouldn't help anyone yet they want everyone's help.

By c8smum

fyi: japan sent workers to new zealand during their quake crisis. try using your brain instead of being caught up in the attitudes shown in previous posts here.

By Hi Todd

Keep your money in the US, we have enough problems here. Severly tax the liberals who try to spend it else where. Lousy liberals in Hollywood are wacko's. Wacko Jacko is dead, so Madonna is "dead beat Donna"!

By mancha de platano

She's from NYC~ Damn, the Bronx can use a hand~ for the kids there, they can use supplies in school~ or the P A L ~ needs " LIGHTS" on for the kids to study~ please

By heather

fraud in malawi just like in haiti hmmmmmm......

By Joe S.

The "M-skank" only started the school to stroke her own inflated ego, not for the kids. She should go back to Detroit and help black kids there.

By lf

I also think that Madonna was doing this just to shine the spotlight on her monster ego. Obviously, her big head doesn't have a big brain in it or she would have been more responsible and accountable for all that money. Especially when she was warned months ago about problems with money being wasted. What a jerk.

By JJ

When are people going to realize that Africa is a sink hole for money. Face it.....its a waste of time.

By tom8991

This can all be blamed on george bush

Monday 28 March

By Russell

Just another bed-wettin', liberal, skank, who is searching for the elusive "spotlight" again. She's no better than Okra.

By hank

Well, She should have learned a thing or two from Oprah about creating schools in African countries. They are greedy and corrupt and the local honcho's intention was never for the money to go toward anything but himself. Why send your money to the other end of the world unless you are there to personally oversee it. Those people are animals, and last time i noticed, you can't teach an animal to read.

By Loobydago

Hollywood ??? What a bunch of phoney balonies.

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