The architectural brains behind Madonna’s new all-girl academy in Malawi won the pop star’s trust by creating a boarding school blueprint which doesn’t resemble a gloomy prison for kids.

German-born Markus Dochantschi was introduced to the star by her Raising Malawi charity director and he offered to create a plan for the perfect school for free.

He tells Architectural Digest magazine that Madonna was very specific about what she wanted her Raising Malawi Academy for Girls to look like.

He says, “We were asked to design a prototype boarding school replicable by others even in different countries, without repeating the typical British-style school that you see in former British colonies.”

“The design is not just about aesthetics and materials but about helping to understand the society you’re building for. For example, in Africa, you realise the importance of open space, of being outside and understanding nature. So we designed a very open pedestrian campus.”

Dochantschi tells the publication the school will cater for 450 students from all over Malawi - and he reveals the pop star is keen for all the children who start the academy to finish with honours.

He adds, “Traditionally, a lot of girls drop out in eighth grade, shortly before they get married… Madonna hopes that the school will instill pride in their homeland, and that educated young women will understand the importance of remaining in Malawi, supporting their own communities.”

The architect also reveals Madonna broke ground on the school with a shovel which featured the inscription ‘Dare to dream’.

Source: Contactmusic

My birthday last week was such a blessing for me. I was surrounded by dear friends, my loving family, and by you.
The notes I received from the Raising Malawi family were simply beautiful -- both in their kindness and their concern for the children of Malawi. Thank you for making my birthday so special.
The note from Sylvia in Great Britain is a message for all of us:

May Malawi, and its beautiful people, be raised through the generosity of those who share your dreams. Thank you for the work you do and the joy you give to your fans worldwide. We are all better people for being connected.

I love how Sylvia echoed the African philosophy ubuntu -- I am because we are. We do share a common fate. And we must continue to dream of a better future.
That's why it's so important that we stay connected with each other. I hope you will help us raise awareness about Malawi by joining our Facebook community:
http://www.raisingmalawi.org/connect-on-facebook
Along with the birthday wishes, many of you took the opportunity to make a donation to our work in Malawi. Again, thank you all!
From Alvaro in Mexico City to Esther in Istanbul, your generous donations totaling over $18,000 touched my heart and will change the lives of so many children. I truly cannot think of a better birthday gift.
Thank you again for being a part of this community and the work most dear to my heart.
Gratefully yours,

Madonna
P.S. If you would like to donate to Raising Malawi today, I will match your donation - doubling its impact on the lives of the Malawi children.

Source: Raising Malawi

Madonna dropped into the Lawnfest charity music event to help publicise the event. The fundraiser was in aid of The New School in West Heath, Kent.

The event, to boost the school’s bursary fund, was organised by Camilla Fayed – the daughter of Mohamed Al Fayed. Pop star Lemar was the headline act.

The New School aims to rebuild young damaged lives through education.

Principal Christina Wells said: “This fundraiser will help grant a bursary for those young people whose lives have been damaged by abuse, bereavement, bullying or other trauma.”

In addition to Lemar, there was an art exhibition plus live performances by Mari Wilson, Joe Worricker, King Groovy & The Hornstars as well as up and coming young bands.

Source: PA (found on All About Madonna)

Dear Friends,

So many of you helped bring Light to the situation in Malawi -- thank you.

Over the last several weeks the world has focused on this small African nation where a couple was sentenced to 14 years hard labor for the "crime" of homosexuality. After worldwide outrage the decision was overturned and the couple is now free!

It is my hope that this is just the beginning of our global community coming together to bring justice to Malawi.

Seven years ago I could not locate Malawi on a map. Since then, this small African nation has become the center of my world -- capturing my heart and transforming my life. Let me tell you how.

It can be overwhelming at times knowing that Malawi is home to over two million orphans and vulnerable children due to HIV-AIDS and extreme poverty. The tragedy that exists there, with children left to raise other children, is very real.

Despite the unimaginable conditions, there is a hope and a determination in the people of Malawi that is nothing short of contagious. Every trip to Malawi I leave feeling more inspired by the progress and more hopeful than before.

With the smallest actions, I have witnessed enormous change -- and that's why I'm inviting you to continue to help me transform Malawi.

Watch the video of the transformation beginning in Malawi:

http://www.raisingmalawi.org/malawivideo

The construction of the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls is just one example of the life changing projects happening right now in Malawi.

I am asking you to partner with me. I know that, together, we will raise Malawi.

Thank you for your support.

Love,

Madonna

In the last week, over 30,000 of you added your names to Madonna's statement, requesting the release of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga – the Malawi couple sentenced to 14 years hard labor for the “crime” of homosexuality. After a global outcry, Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika has pardoned the couple. Madonna has released the following statement:

We celebrate this astounding turn of events with Steven, Tiwonge, and the countless Malawians fighting for their release. It is a historic day for Malawi.
Though they are free from prison, sadly their safety and future in Malawi is still unknown. I hope this is just the beginning of our work together.

Human rights injustices continue for so many Malawians facing poverty, disease, and a lack of critical resources. There are still over two million orphans and vulnerable children who need to experience love’s embrace.

It is going to take the love and creativity of all of us to bring justice to the people of Malawi.

—Madonna

Villagers serenaded US pop star Madonna late Thursday at an orphanage she bankrolls that caters for 8 000 orphans in impoverished Malawi.

A local band and a choir sang songs praising Madonna as she visited the centre in Namitete, 50 kilometres from Malawi’s administrative capital Lilongwe.

She was accompanied by her biological daughter Lourdes and Mercy ‘Chifundo’ James, who was adopted by Madonna last year from the poor southern African nation.

Yacinta Chapomba, director of the Consol homes orphanage centre which is financed by Madonna, said the villagers view the pop diva as their mother for constructing the centre which is complete with a 2 000 capacity hall.

“We are grateful to you for your kind gesture,” she told Madonna. “The people of this area take you as their mother.”

About 8 000 orphans and vulnerable children come to the centre to learn, get fed and clothed. Some old men and women also come here to eat lunch.

Madonna, who arrived on Monday to lay the first brick for a $15-million academy she is building in Malawi, was expected to leave on Friday.

Source: AFP

Pop singer Madonna has taken her adopted son David to visit his former orphanage in central Malawi.

Chants of “welcome home, David!” and “we love you, David!” could be heard from inside the Home Of Hope as the four-year-old and his mother arrived. Journalists were barred from the reunion, which took place during Madonna’s week-long stay in Malawi.

But the head of the orphanage said Madonna did not want to break David’s “emotional attachment” to the home.

“David spent most of his first days on earth here,” Lucy Chipeta told the BBC. “We are delighted to have him back.”

“We have preserved his room including his crib,” she added.

As Madonna engaged in discussions with the orphanage’s directors, David and his older sister Lourdes played with the young residents.

However, the four-year-old’s biological father, Yohane Banda, was nowhere to be seen. Chipeta refused to comment on why he had not attended. Madonna, in Malawi since Monday, is scheduled to leave the southern African country on Friday.

The pop star, 51, funds six orphanages through her Raising Malawi charity and is setting up a school for girls on the outskirts of the country’s capital, Lilongwe.

Source: BBC

US pop star Madonna on Tuesday laid the first brick at the $15 million (11 million euro) girls’ academy that she is building in Malawi, promising to bring quality education to young girls.

The singer and actress laid a stone with an inscription “Raising Malawi Academy for Girls” and the motto, Dare to Dream.

“It has always been my dream to train women leaders who can help develop the country,” Madonna said during the event.

The colourful ceremony in Chinkhota village, some 15km (nine miles) from the capital Lilongwe, was attended by education officials and curious villagers.

“I grew up as a poor girl with my mother, I had no chance for good education,” Madonna said.

“It is my aim to see Malawian girls get the right education,” she added.

The pop star was accompanied by her biological daughter Lourdes and her two other children, whom she adopted in Malawi.

Madonna, who funds several initiatives in the southern African country, broke ground and planted a tree in October last year for the school, which will admit 500 girls from poor backgrounds.

Source: AFP

Pop star Madonna has returned to Malawi where she adopted two children to see construction of a school for orphaned girls she funded and launch a new education campaign using mobile technology, her spokeswoman said on Monday.

The singer is on a trip with her Raising Malawi charity she began in 2006, and will watch the first bricks laid down at her school, The Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, located in Chinkhota village about 15 kilometers outside the capital, Lilongwe, according to the charity's website.

Madonna also will visit the Millennium Village -- a United Nations-backed project to fight poverty -- along with economist Jeffrey Sachsand CEO of consumer electronics firm Ericsson Hans Vestberg. She and Vestberg will formally announce an education campaign on Tuesday.

"I look forward to seeing the amazing progress being made in that community as well as several other projects that are currently underway including the creation of a Girl's Academy," Madonna said in a statement.

In 2006, Madonna adopted a son, David, from the nation, and faced an outcry of public opinion when she was accused of getting special treatment from the Malawi government for skirting laws that ban nonresidents from adopting children.

Her 2009 adoption of a daughter also raised eyebrows, and last November the school became the subject of controversy in Malawi when villagers demanded more money for the land the government has leased to Madonna's charity.

More photos at Yahoo News

Source: Yahoo! News

On my first visit to Malawi, I was devastated to meet child after child who had been orphaned by AIDS. Having lost my mother at such a young age, I felt a close connection to these children. Their stories had touched my own.
In a country of 14 million, a staggering one million children have been left alone with the responsibility of raising each other. I returned home knowing the future of Malawi was resting on the shoulders of these orphaned children, and I had to act.
So it is with tremendous joy that I return to Malawi to lay the first brick in the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls. By educating girls we will rebuild this community and raise this nation.
Our academy will educate, protect, and empower 450 young girls who are Malawi’s hope for the future. We will stop the brain drain happening in so many African nations—our students will receive an internationally competitive education while incorporating local values.
As an artist, I know the transformative power of art. Malawi’s culture will be preserved and passed on through the teaching of music, art, and dance in our academy. Once instilled with pride in their homeland, young women will understand the importance of remaining in Malawi and investing in their own communities.
I will share not only my own words of encouragement tomorrow at our ceremony, but also encouragement from women and men around the world who believe that the future of Malawi rests squarely on the shoulders of its girls.
As one Raising Malawi supporter wrote to Malawi's girls, “You carry the future of your country in your school bags.”
Having seen the determination in the eyes of these children, I know they have the strength to save Malawi—they just need to be given the tools. I am so grateful for the many people who have partnered with me to provide the resources needed, including Jeffrey Sachs, with whom I am launching a new global initiative to provide access to education for all children on all continents.
It is with hope for a bright future that I am here. Tomorrow the brick I will lay is not just the bedrock to a school—it is the foundation for our shared future.

MADONNA

Madonna and her family are scheduled to travel to Malawi this week to visit several important projects for orphans and vulnerable children that she and Raising Malawi have been working on since 2006.
She is expected to visit the Millennium Village which she supports along with Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, one of the world's leading economists. “I look forward to seeing the amazing progress being made in that community as well as several other projects that are currently underway including the creation of a Girl’s Academy. I'm hugely excited to be joining Dr. Sachs and Hans Vestberg, the CEO of Ericsson, to launch a new campaign for worldwide access to education using mobile technology,” stated Madonna. A formal announcement regarding the campaign will be made on Tuesday in Malawi.
For further information on Raising Malawi, go to www.raisingmalawi.org

Source: Madonna.com

Madonna, pictured below, received a donation of $ 1 million from a Brazilian brewery to benefit the official start of the activities of the Success For Kids program in Rio de Janeiro, scheduled for March this year.
The check was presented to Madonna on Friday night of Friday by the president of AmBev, Joao Castro Neves.

Sources: Globo, MadonnaTribe

A star-studded collection of celebrity photos featuring iconic photographs of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Angelina Jolie and Britney Spears has gone on display in New York, proceeds of which will go to Haiti relief fund. The exhibition, titled ”Snapped! From the Red Carpet to the Dark Side of Celebrity”, is being held to mark the 21st anniversary of entertainment news and photo agency World Entertainment News Network, Contactmusic reported.

Snapped! showcases shots from the past two decades, including Lady GaGa with British monarch Queen Elizabeth II and Madonna in Malawi with her adopted son David Banda. The collection is also raising money for charity as all proceeds from the sales of prints will be donated to Concern Worldwide’’s Haitian earthquake relief efforts.

“Like everyone, we were devastated by the horrors of the recent events in Haiti and have been looking for an appropriate way in which to contribute,” Lloyd Beiny, organiser of the display said. The exhibition runs until February 28 at Manhattan’’s Chelsea Market.

Source: Yahoo News

The "Hope for Haiti Now"album debuts at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart this week, selling 171,000 copies in just two days of release.
Following the telethon Friday night, the 20-track live album was only available as a digital download for the tracking week, which ended Sunday night. (Physical copies of the album aren't yet produced or distributed.)
"Hope for Haiti Now" is the first album available solely as a digital download to debut at No. 1 in Billboard's 54-year history.
Helping to make history this week is Madonna's stirring rendition of choir-backed track 13 "Like A Prayer", underscoring Madonna's continuing commitment to social justice and economic empowerment.
Bonus: Madonna is connected to this week's U.S. No. 2 album as well - Susan Boyle covers the Madonna classic You'll See on her popular "Dreamed a Dream" debut album.

Source: MadonnaTribe

According to MTV.com, the "Hope for Haiti Now" album is currently the #1 iTunes album in 22 countries, marking the biggest one-day album pre-order in iTunes history.
The 20-track album is currently at the top spot in the US, the UK, Australia, Austria, Belgium. Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland and #2 in France.

The entire album is available for only $7.99, and tracks can also be purchased separately. In Italy, "Like A Prayer" is currently #11 on the iTunes Top Singles chart.

Source: MadonnaTribe

Organizers for the all-star “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon say the event raised $57 million and counting.

“The public has set a new standard of giving for a relief telethon with ‘Hope for Haiti Now,’ and the donations continue to come in,” Lisa Paulsen, president and CEO of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, said in a statement released Saturday. The group is helping to oversee the funds gathered from the event.

The two-hour telethon aired Friday night on the major networks and dozens of other channels, including MTV, Bravo, and PBS, and was also streamed live online. Stars like Brad Pitt, Beyonce, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and more used their presence to encourage donations for Haiti, following a Jan. 12 earthquake that killed an estimated 200,000 people.

The total released Saturday includes money raised by phone, text and the Web. It does not include donations by corporations or via iTunes, where people are able to buy performances of the event for 99 cents each, or the entire album for $7.99. Those funds also go to Haiti relief.

The “Hope for Haiti Now” CD is the biggest one-day pre-order in the site’s history and the new song “Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)” by Jay-Z, Rihanna, Bono and the Edge, debuted during the telethon, is the No. 1 single on iTunes.

People can donate via text, phone or through the “Hope for Haiti” Web site for the next six months. Among the organizations who will receive funds from the telethon include Oxfam America, UNICEF, and the Clinton-Bush Haiti Foundation.

Source: Associated Press

All proceeds from album sales of Hope for Haiti Now will go to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, Oxfam America, Partners in Health, Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme, and Yele Haiti Foundation. In addition, all proceeds from the special studio version of “Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)” by Jay-Z, Bono, the Edge, and Rihanna will go to Partners in Health.

Hope For Haiti Now Digital Album at Amazon.com, iTunes / Video on Demand atAmazon.com

Tracklisting:

1. Send Me An Angel – Alicia Keys
2. A Message 2010 – Coldplay
3. We Shall Overcome – Bruce Springsteen
4. Time To Love / Bridge Over Troubled Water – Stevie Wonder
5. I’ll Stand By You (with The Roots) – Shakira
6. Motherless Child – John Legend
7. Hard Times Come Again No More (with The Roots) – Mary J. Blige
8. Breathless – Taylor Swift
9. Lift Me Up – Christina Aguilera
10. Driven To Tears – Sting
11. Halo – Beyoncé
12. Lean On Me (with Keith Urban & Kid Rock) – Sheryl Crow
13. Like A Prayer – Madonna
14. Hallelujah (with Charlie Sexton) – Justin Timberlake
15. Let It Be (The Roots) – Jennifer Hudson
16. Many Rivers To Cross – Emeline Michel
17. Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour) – Jay-Z (with Rihanna, Bono & The Edge) (Live Version)
18. Alone And Forsaken – Neil Young (with Dave Mathews)
19. Rivers Of Babylon / Yele (Medley) – Wyclef Jean
20. Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour) – Jay-Z (with Rihanna, Bono & The Edge) (Version 1.0)

Source: FadedYouthBlog

“I’m thrilled to have been a part of such a special night. It’s only the beginning of what we all need to do to help rebuild Haiti…”

– Madonna / via Guy Oseary’s Twitter

Source: All About Madonna