Happy Monday!
Madonna is in Malawi today trying to adopt a second child from the African nation. Amid some controversy, she adopted a 13-month-old boy named David Banda back in 2006.
And things are no different this time around, with many opinions on whether or not this is the right thing for little 4-year-old Mercy James. According to our reporting, Mercy's mother died in childbirth and her father is also dead. She does have other relatives but lives in an orphanage.
Today I interviewed Dominic Nutt, the spokesman for Save the Children UK, who strongly feels the little girl would be better off staying in Malawi than living with the newly divorced Madonna and her three other children. Here's his take.
It should be noted that the 50-year-old pop icon is a big supporter of Malawi. She made a documentary, "I Am Because We Are," about the country's struggle with poverty, AIDS and disease.
Her nonprofit group, Raising Malawi, also donates money and time to help the country's children. And they need that help. According to UNICEF, for every 1,000 births, 120 children will die, the life expectancy in Malawi is only 44-years-old and most children over the age of 10 don't attend school.
Today when I posted the question "what do you think about Madonna wanting to adopt another child from Malawi?" to those following me on twitter.com/kiranchetrycnn, we got a lot of great responses and many different opinions!
On a personal note, I can understand the tough choice that goes with deciding whether or not to send your child away in hopes of a better life somewhere else.
I was born in Kathmandu, Nepal to a native Nepali and an American Peace Corps volunteer. My father and his 4 siblings took very different paths in life. My dad and his youngest brother came to the U.S. to study and eventually live. His other brothers and sister didn't come here themselves, but scraped together every cent they could to make sure all of their children came to the United States for their educations. Nepal is quite a poor nation and my cousins' prospects for a better life were definitely improved by having an American education and access to healthcare. Now, it's not the same as giving up parental rights by any means, but my aunts and uncles sacrificed a lot in their decision to send their children away. They had to trust that they were cared for from afar and could only communicate with letters and the occasional phone call. That is why I understand why some of the relatives of children like David and Mercy decide to give their children away when faced with bleak circumstances at home.
In the case of Madonna and Malawi, the question of how to best help the other children left behind is an even harder one.
Kiran