I can't believe she will be able to adopt

[2chocolateshoes]

poor child

do any of you know madonna or are you not just basing all your facts on what you've read in the papers!

for all we know she might be a great mum and have had the same nanny for years - we dont know the real facts!

if you're saying that because she has childcare for her children because she works then a lot of us on here are not fit to adopt either!

btw, I saw a clip earlier, and I couldn't believe how grown up Lourdes (sp?) is?

Madonna hasn't had the same nanny for years - she is known for being a very difficult and demanding employer. Her last nanny left after the divorce.

there's also a hell of a difference between having a 9-5 job and disappearing for weeks on end on a tour.

I find it odd that the grandmother has come out of the woodwork now, probably hoping to get a payoff from Madge for signing her grand daughter away

How do we know Madge doesnt already sponsor other children, and how do we know this particular child is on a sponsor list, Madonnas intentions may not exactly be selfless ones, but they are hadly out of malice, and she will be adopted into a world where she will be well cared for and given much better opportunities for her future

At the moment she is living, and un-loved existance in a third word orphanange

Yes this is not about whether or not she works, it's about not being around on a regular basis to give a child one-to-one, consistent, reliable love and stability at the time when they would need it most - when they've just been uprooted from everything they know. The child would have a nanny who could leave at any time. It's a recipe for an even more upset and traumatised child IMO.

Is she in the throes of a very bitter divorce? I thought it was done and dusted.

When she adopted David I think I read that one of the conditions was that she allowed his real father to see him on a very regular basis and she would have to pay for him to fly over to see his son.

So what if the primary care giver would be a nanny, isnt that better than the being bought up in a third world orphanage?isnt that better than the existance the poor child is living now?

But i am sure the Madonna bashers would rather see the child live a hellish life of poverty and neglect than agree she would lead a better life if she was adopted

IME orphanges are often used in Africa as temporary foster homes when famalies can't afford to look after them. This girl's grandmother probably can't look after this girl at the age she is because the chances ae she will be working herself. Once the girl is old enough to go to school she would probably have gone back to her family, gone to school for a few years and then got a job and supported er grandmother.

Actually - that's true - the divorce was fnalised in December.

If thats true though Stripey, then why has the girl been put up for adoption? my guess is the grandmother has agreed for her to be put up for adoption but now changed her mind because it is madonna and she might get a payoff

I do suspect the grandmother's motives - I'm sure she is after money.

But when Save The Children, and 49 other respected charities and organisations oppose the adoption then I don't think it can be for no reason.

Save the children havent opposed it, they have urged madonna to think again, and where does it say there are 49 other charities opposing it? Malawi as a rule does not approve adoptions for single or divorced people, which is, i guess one of the reasons why the adoption has gone to a court hearing

I think that the fact that we are all talking about the orphans in Malawi is in itself a good thing. I think that the child will have a much better life after adoption than before.

Ideally Malawi would be helped to develop to such an extent that there were not so many orphans created and so that the existing orphans could be cared for adequately in families. As this is not going to happen any time soon it is a stroke of good luck for this little girl that she will soon have a life of wealth and luxury.

The charities opposing the adoption are citing the fact that the child should not be brought up outside its "culture" which I suspect is shorthand for race and something I strongly disagree with.

Urging her not to do it, going on the record to denounce it and having their head of communications give endless press interviews about why Malawi children are better off growing up in their own culture is opposing it in my view!

But, it won't make any difference. Money talks and the adoption will go ahead.

I agree pigleto

The girl hadn't been put up for adoption. Madonna saw her and wanted to adopt her and at that point she was not up for adoption.

Malawi authorities have put a lot of pressure on the family to agree to putting her up for adoption.

"I think that the child will have a much better life after adoption than before.
"

IMHO I think thats a very simplistic statement - she will have a very different life if she's adopted. But who are we to say its better? Yes she will have more money, more material things, better education, better healthcare and life expectency - but will her life be better?

If she stayed in Malawi she wouldn't be bothered about material things, she would have an eduction to the standard of her peers. The only thing you can definetly say will be betetr is healthcare. But is that a reason for ripping her away from her culture and extended family.

I've lived in Africa and worked with families who are dirt poor, not to the extent that they're starving to death but certainly living to a standard which would shock most people on here. Big families living in a one room hut, no access to water, minimal food and clothing. But the majority of these kids are happy, they don't know any different, they're not reading OK magazine and wishing they could have a Western lifestyle.

I don't know if I'm making my point well but I don't think she should be allowed to adopt that girl. But of course she will be.

I don't think it's shorthand for race, it's a well publicised fact that cross-cultural adoption raises many issues for children as they grow up and wonder where their place in life is.

As I understand it Madonna saw this child and wanted her, which just seems so wrong, if she wanted to help she would choose the one that is most needy, not the one who looks prettiest.

I agree entirely with stripey.

Wouldn't cross my mind its a race thing at all. The kid won't even speak English, will have limited experience of cars, cities, crowdes places, TV ,etc. Its going to be a fairly terrifying time for her.

I very much agree stripy.

Plus what sort of life would it be to be constantly followed by paps, surrounded by security and a huge entourage of nannies/ stylists/ arse wipers.

I think it is very selfish to bring a child into a media circus when they have no say in the matter.

You are making your point very well Stripey.

for me there are two issues really.

The first is that it is seemingly mmuch easier to adopt if you have money. Now I don't really care if madonna adopts a child, or Angelina Joley or anyone else who is rich for that matter. I think it's not actually that uncommon to feel that you want to give a child a better life, and if you have wealth then you would be in more of a position to do so.

But if Madonna wants to adopt then she should, IMO, go through exactly the same process as anyone else. And that includes the home studies, the ss intrusion into her private life, the meetings with other potential adopters and so on. And she should have to meet the exact same criteria as anyone else going through the adoption process. So in short, if Madonna didn't have money, would she be approved as an adoptive parent? If not, then money should make no difference, if so, then fair enough, but the process shouldn't be hastened by the financial side.

My second issue is with this notion that if Madonna wanted this child to have a better life, she could just give money to her family (from her vast wealth).

This notion is very flawed. These children, while potentially still having living relatives, are in orphanages. If someone like madonna started giving money to the odd family to bring up their child, the result would be a massive increase in the amount of children placed in orphanages in the hope of gaining financially. Giving money to individual families is not a pheasible solution at all.

i am surprised that a newly single mother who has already had a much publicised affair with a young man and whose work takes up so much time can even be considered.It is defintiely bettr to make things better for her family and keep her with them but as with all things celeb they have their own rules

And if I were minded to adopt a four year old girl from Malawi (we have room in our home and our hearts for another child, we could afford to do so and in theory give her "a much better life") would I be able to? Not on your Nelly! It sickens me, actually, that the rich and famous seem to be able to shortcut or fast track the usual adoption processes.