I don't really have an opinion on whether or not Madonna should be allowed
to adopt this baby - but what I found interesting in this article was that
this: "Banda said he gave the boy to the orphanage mainly for medical care
and breast-feeding after the boy's mother died of malaria days after
giving birth to him."
In this country, the baby would have stayed with dad and gotten ABM.
interesting... Deb Ray, RNC, IBCLC
Father: I didn't want Madonna adoption
POSTED: 7:17 a.m. EDT, October 22, 2006
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LIPUNGA, Malawi (Reuters) -- The father of the Malawian boy Madonna plans
to adopt added a fresh twist to the saga, saying he never intended his son
to be adopted by the pop diva, but only for her to raise the child on his
behalf.
In an interview with Reuters Television in his home village of Lipunga on
Saturday, Yohane Banda said Madonna asked that she be able to raise his
one-year-old son on his behalf, rather than that the child should become
her own.
Banda's statement is a major shift from his earlier remarks last week when
he railed against human rights groups that have gone to court to stop
Madonna from adopting his son David.
"Had they told us that Madonna wanted to adopt my son and make him her own
son, we would not have agreed to that," Banda said in his local language
of Chichewa.
"It would have been better for him to continue staying at the orphanage
because I see no reason why my child should be given away forever when I
can feed him," he said, speaking at his village of Lipunga near the Zambia
border late on Saturday.
Madonna, 48, has angered rights groups with her plan to adopt young David
Banda, who left his native country on Tuesday last week for the
entertainer's home in London after she was granted temporary adoption
rights by Malawi authorities.
The High Court in Lilongwe will on Friday start hearing the case lodged by
the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), an alliance of 67 human
rights groups, which argues current Malawi laws forbid international
adoption, even by celebrities.
Banda told Reuters he signed papers he could not understand, but
government officials assured him that the agreement was similar to what he
had with the orphanage -- to nurture and educate the boy but not take him
away for good.
"I cannot read and write so I relied on what the (government) officials
told me that the papers said Madonna would look after the child the way
the orphanage planned to educate him and then he comes back to me," Banda
said.
Asked if he had any copies of the agreements he signed with Madonna, Banda
said: "I am still waiting to get my copies."
He said the copies were still in the hands of the government officials who
mediated the agreement. Banda said he would wait to see them before
deciding what action to take after consultations with his mother and other
family members.
Government officials were not immediately available to comment.
Banda said he gave the boy to the orphanage mainly for medical care and
breast-feeding after the boy's mother died of malaria days after giving
birth to him.
"We sent this child to an orphanage because at one month we could not look
after him, we did not have a health center nearby and the orphanage was
the ideal place for him," he said.
The American singer, who is married to British film director Guy Ritchie,
hopes to make David a brother to her 10-year-old daughter Lourdes and son,
Rocco, who is six. She has denied cutting corners to speed the adoption
process.
David will stay abroad with Madonna for 18 months and be monitored by
Malawi officials before final approval can be given for him to officially
join her family.
Banda said people did not give him a chance to explain his position better
because the media was only interested in knowing about David and Madonna.
"What we agreed with Madonna was that she looks after my child until he
finishes school, becomes independent and comes back home to us," Banda
said.
Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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