Madonna Honors Commitment to Help the Children of Malawi

NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Madonna has not forgotten her commitment to help the children of Malawi and today announced plans to build ten new schools in Malawi with buildOn, a deeply respected non-profit organization that has an unparalleled track record of school construction in Malawi.  buildOn has already built 54 primary schools in Malawi and with Madonna's commitment will greatly expand their work.

Madonna who is scheduled to perform at this Sunday's Halftime show, is about to release a new film and a new album still feels passionately about her vow to help Malawi's neediest children receive an education.

"This remains a very big priority in my life and I am excited that with the help of buildOn we can maintain our ongoing commitment to move forward efficiently.  We now will be able to serve twice as many children as we would have served with our old approach," said Madonna.  Raising Malawi, Madonna's charity, previously ran into various difficulties in their original effort to build a girls academy.  "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.  Constructing smaller schools in partnership with buildOn has restored my faith that we can accomplish what we promised we would," concluded Madonna.

Consistently ranked among the world's 20 least developed countries on the UN's Human Development Index, Malawi has long been challenged by economic stagnation and a lack of access to education.  With support from Raising Malawi, buildOn will leverage their 19 years of experience in Malawi to construct 10 new schools with the capacity to educate at least 1,000 children per year, half of whom are girls.  Malawi has over a half a million children orphaned from the Aids epidemic.  Raising Malawi has helped support many of these children for the last several years through various programs.

"Because of Madonna and Raising Malawi's support, we will be able to build schools for children that the rest of the world has left behind.  Generations of children will have access to education and be empowered to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations," said Jim Ziolkowski, Founder and CEO of buildOn.

About buildOn:
buildOn is a non-governmental organization that is breaking the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education.  Since 1991, buildOn has brought literacy to girls and boys and their parents and grandparents, in developing countries around the world.  In the U.S., buildOn's afterschool service programs mobilize urban teens to lift up their communities through intensive local service and change the world and by building schools in some of the poorest countries on the planet.  To date, buildOn has constructed 427 schoolhouses worldwide, including 54 schoolhouses in villages in Malawi. http://www.buildon.org/

About Raising Malawi:
Raising Malawi was founded in 2006 to bring an end to the extreme poverty and hardship endured by Malawi's 1.4 million orphans and vulnerable children.  Raising Malawi supports community-based organizations that provide these children and their caregivers with critical resources including food, clothing, shelter, education, medical care, and psychosocial support. http://www.raisingmalawi.org

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SOURCE Raising Malawi