Malawi govt trashes Madonna school-building claim
Malawi’s Education Minister, Eunice Kazembe on Thursday challenged a claim by American pop queen Madonna that her charity last year built 10 new schools in the developing southern African nation.
In December Madonna’s charity – Raising Malawi – announced that its efforts to support vulnerable children in Malawi had led to the construction of 10 primary schools to serve more than 4,800 pupils in rural villages.
The schools, it said, were the result of a partnership between Madonna, her charity, and a non-profit school-building organisation, buildOn.
But Malawi Education Minister said pop star did not deserve quite so much credit.
“The schools Raising Malawi claims to have constructed were already in existence,” she said.
“Raising Malawi only built 10 classroom blocks and not schools,” the minister went on.
“People should know the difference between the two.”
Malawi’s education minister said the country wanted to “clarify any misconceptions that may arise.”
In 2010 Madonna – who controversially adopted two children for Malawi D avid and Mercy, – laid the foundation stone of an academy for girls in Chinkota village, outside the capital Lilongwe.
A year later the school project was cancelled because of mismanagement and local employees sacked.
The academy was replaced by plans to build schools, in order to reach more children.
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