Madonna to Build 10 New Schools in Malawi
Madonna announced she plans to build 10 new schools in Malawi with a new non-profit partner after past mismanagement forced the singer to end her initial project last year, Reuters reported.
This time, Madonna's Raising Malawi charity is teaming up with buildOn, a non-profit group that has built 54 primary schools in Malawi over the last 19 years, according to Reuters.
"I am excited that with the help of buildOn, we can maintain our ongoing commitment to move forward efficiently. We will now be able to serve twice as many children as we would have served with our old approach," the pop star said in a statement.
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"I have learned a great deal over the last few years and feel confident that we can reach our goals to educate children in Malawi, especially young girls, in a much more practical way," Madonna said.
"Constructing smaller schools in partnership with buildOn has restored my faith that we can accomplish what we promised we would," she added.
Madonna has adopted two children, one boy and one girl, from Malawi and said her hope is for the new schools to educate at least 1,000 children a year, half of which are girls, Reuters reported.
The "Just Like a Prayer" singer originally wanted to open an academy for 400 girls, but the plan ended in March 2011 due to mismanagement and cost overruns. At the time, The New York Times reported $3.8 million had been spent on the school, with barely anything to show for the cost.
Earlier this month, the singer and actress agreed to pay £96,000 to a group of charity workers who sued her after they lost their jobs following the premature end of the first school project.
Madonna, 53, isn't slowing down anytime soon. "W.E," a new film written and directed by the pop-singer-turned-philanthropist, will open in U.S. theaters on Friday.
Madonna, who will release her twelfth studio album, "MDNA" in March, will also perform at Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show.
