Madonna and Malawi

I am afraid that I have not been keeping a close eye on what has been going on with the Madonna Malawi adoption situation. However, based upon some of the conversations I have overheard, people are considering this situation from their own perspectives. I am not suggesting that Madonna circumvent Malawi law, but I thought I might give a semi-informed perspective. I visited Malawi once for a few weeks. I only visited one orphanage. So here it goes.

A talk show host was commenting on the fact that Madonna was adopting a child though she had relatives living nearby. It depends upon the living situation of the families. I only visited one orphanage that cared for children whose parents had died from AIDS. Imagine if your parents had at least five siblings and they had an average of five kids. Your grandparents might have 25 grand kids. What if all of your aunts and uncles were dying as a result of AIDS and other unrelated issues. What if your grandparents had already taken in several of your cousins?What would happen if you were on the younger end of the spectrum, where might you end up?

I always cringe when the only image of African nations is AIDS and orphans. One should not ignore this pandemic, but there are still people living, loving and functioning everyday. I had the privilege of interacting with the top academics and students at the University of Malawi. They spoke several languages and knew a great deal about the world around them.