Madonna Leaves Malawi After A Week

LILONGWE, Malawi — Madonna has left Malawi after a nearly weeklong visit with her family, airport and charity officials said Saturday. Officials said Madonna flew out of the southern African country on Friday. The 51-year-old celebrity arrived in the impoverished country on Sunday accompanied by her four children – daughters Lourdes and Mercy, and sons Rocco and David. Mercy and David were adopted from Malawi. While in Malawi, she broke ground for her $15 million Raising Malawi Academy for Girls and visited the orphanage that cared for her son David before she adopted him. Madonna's Raising Malawi, a charity founded in 2006 when she first visited the country, helps feed, educate and provide medical care for some of Malawi's orphans. Malawi, a nation of 12 million, is one of the poorest countries in the world. About 500,000 children have lost a parent to AIDS. (link)