Someone needs to learn some manners — and grammar skills.
Pop star Madonna just returned from a week-long goodwill “Holiday” to Malawi where she saw the 10 school projects her charity built. But judging from a barely legible, handwritten letter the “Material Girl” wrote to the African nation’s President Joyce Banda, it might be Madonna herself who’s in need of some schooling.
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Madonna and her two children David Banda (l) and Mercy James (r) visited schools in Malawi, the country the pop diva adopted them from.
“Dear Joyce,” the scrawled, nearly illegible note begins on the “Vogue” singer’s own monogrammed stationery.
If addressing a country’s president by first name is not informal enough, Madonna congratulates the president, the nation’s first female leader, on her “new position” — as if the barrier-breaking politician has earned a promotion at an insurance company. Forbes named the president no. 71 on its list of most powerful woman in the world, and named her the most powerful woman in Africa.
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Madonna, flanked by daughter Mercy (l.) and son David, speaks to news media in Namitete, Malawi as Yasinta Chapomba (far l.), Executive Director for Mphandula Childcare Centre, listens on Friday, April 5. The center was built with donations from Madonna’s Raising Malawi organization.
The letter’s mistakes get “Deeper and Deeper” for the 54-year-old philanthropic pop goddess. She misspells the word responsibility as “responsability” and writes in a messy hand with little order on the page.
The note reads “Like a Prayer” from Madonna, who requests to meet with the president to discuss future charity projects.
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Madonna’s daughters Lourdes (l.) and Mercy clap their hands during an April 2 visit to Mkoko Primary School in Kasungu, central Malawi.
She redeems herself at the end, wishing Banda good luck and offering “warm regards and great respect.”
It’s unclear if the letter was ever delivered to Banda. The two did not meet during the weeklong trip, which Madonna took with her two 8-year-old adopted Malawian children, David Banda and Mercy James.
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Madonna visits the Mkoko Primary School, one of the schools her Raising Malawi organization has built jointly with U.S. organization BuildOn, on April 2.
Madonna visited the 10 school blocks that her charity has helped build or renovate in collaboration with BuildOn.
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Madonna, joined by her children David (r.) and Mercy (l.), waves with kids from the Mkoko Primary School during her visit. ‘I’m here because I care deeply about the children of Malawi,’ the pop star said.
The singer also visited a hospital’s pediatric ward and several orphanages, including the Home of Hope, where she adopted David Banda in 2006.
Madonna initially planned to build a $15 million 500-bed Raising Malawi Academy for girls, before changing plans to help fund several community schools, which led to some controversy in Malawi. She also closed the Malawi office of Raising Malawi and fired staff for misappropriating funds.
The country’s education minister, Eunice Kazembe, told the BBC she perceives the change as a slight.
“She promised an academy and we agreed on standards but she just changed her mind on the project without consulting us,” Kazembe said. “We’d like them to work with us so that they can be absorbed into the strategy of Malawi’s education and that goes not just for Madonna — any group that comes to Malawi to assist us in education.”
But in a press statement before she left, Madonna said the project she did complete, which cost about $400,000 to build and benefits approximately 4,000 children, was worth the effort.
“I feel very welcome here, and I want to say that my reasons for being here have never changed,” she said. “I’m here because I care deeply about the children of Malawi. That is my main priority.”
