MADGE: I'LL BUILD HOME IN MALAWI TO BE NEAR MERCY

MADGE: I'LL BUILD HOME IN MALAWI TO BE NEAR MERCY
ABOVE: Madonna

Madonna has a big, beautiful piece of land over there already

Source
11th April 2009
By Emma Wall
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BATTLING Madonna wants to build a house in Malawi after her bid to adopt a three-year-old girl flopped.

The Material Girl is said to be planning a luxury pad in the country to bring her closer to Mercy James.

Her adoption application was turned down because she had not lived in the African country for 18 months.

So Madge, 50, has vowed to do all she can to overturn the decision, made at Malawi’s Supreme Court.

The determined singer was stunned when she had to leave Mercy behind as she flew back to New York. But the new house could help her chances by showing how serious she is about helping children in Malawi.

And if a base in the country fails to boost her bid to become Mercy’s legal mum, it will still give her the chance to be near.

Devoted Madonna also believes her adopted son David Banda, three, needs a link to his home country. A source revealed the superstar has already bought land in Malawi and consulted experts as she plots her next move. The source said: “Madonna has a big, beautiful piece of land over there already.

“She is planning to build a girl’s school in the Chinkhota village and those designs are well under way.

“But she’s gone back to the designers and asked if they could accommodate a family home on the plot or on adjacent land.”

On recent trips to Malawi the mega-rich singer has stayed at plush Kumbali Lodge near the capital Lilongwe. She took David and her two biological children, Lourdes, 12, and eight-year-old Rocco, with her on her recent visit as she tried to adopt Mercy.

During the trip, her adopted son shared an emotional reunion with his father.

Madonna, who promised to help David remember his roots when she adopted him in 2006, even started the Raising Malawi charity in an attempt to show her commitment to the nation.

But her bid to raise Mercy as her own child failed amid rumours that her divorce from Guy Ritchie, 40, and single status was a factor.

The star was dealt another blow when a man claiming to be Mercy’s long-lost dad came forward and vowed to gain custody.

A source said: “Malawi is a traditional country.

“There were grumblings about Madonna not having a husband.

“But the official reason she failed is because she was not a resident. Building a house there can only help her cause.”