Madonna’s adoption in Malawi is one in a million

Malawi (MNN) — David Banda, the orphan boy adopted by rock star Madonna last week, is only one of the many orphans in Malawi, says Michael Glenn, Executive Director of Hopegivers International.

“The whole attention in the media is on this one child she adopted,” says Glenn, “But, we cannot forget about the hundreds of thousands of other orphans with HIV and other issues that are still on the streets in the villages and don’t have parents.”

Hopegivers is not forgetting them. Glenn says they’re partnering with a group called City Hope International. “(Malawi) is an area that has similar needs like some of the things that we’ve experienced in India. With the devastation of AIDS just wiping out people at all ages. This past year we’ve been able to feed and care for over 10,000 orphans.”

According to Glenn, physical assistance isn’t the only thing they’re providing. “When we come out and bring aid to anybody, the Gospel message is always there with us. You give them that warm meal, but you also bring that in the name of Christ so that they understand you’re there to represent our Heavenly Father.”

However, Hopegivers isn’t doing this in a vacuum. “One of the things we want to do is create the indigenous missionary,” Glenn says. “We know that we don’t know the culture as well as they do. We want them to help transform their own country.”

Glenn says your help is needed because, “The number one business and industry in Malawi right now is coffin making. That just appalls you, so when people help us financially and with their strong prayers we know that we’ve got flexibility to support people in various ways.”

If you’d like to help provide physical and spiritual hope for the children of Malawi, go to Hopegivers.org.