Madonna has said that she wants to adopt Mercy so that her other Malawian child can have someone around who looks like him. Well, I suppose with that line of thinking, she could adopt the whole country to come and live with her. Ethica has a good post about the situation from a social worker in Michigan, Madonna and my home state.
As the average annual income in Malawi is $160, the amount needed is under $3000 to support Mercy James until she is eighteen. As times are tight, donations as slim but one still imagines that raising $2,240 would not be difficult, but the money is not pouring in. As of yesterday, Ethica was still short of this goal, more than a week after asking.
People, I'm asking, give a damn here. We have written about the corruption in international adoption here and here, and Madonna in particular, and readers who post at least agree with us that more must be done to stop the wholesale sale of children from impoverished countries. One way is to start by sending a donation, however small. Ten dollars from ten people is more than half a year's annual income in Malawi. Surely the readers of FirstMotherForum can pick up the slack.
Please donate for Mercy James. Go to: http://www.ethicanet.org/malawi. Or send a check to: Ethica, Box 130822, Ann Arbor, MI 48113, which is what I did, noting that it was for Mercy James. I won't use PayPal because I get too much phishing once I use the site. And do check out Daily Bastardette for gory details of Madonna and Malawi. Marley has posted a lively rundown of the chain of events.
Now, off to the computer fix-it man. My PC has been acting up lately. Protesting god knows what, possible the really late and cold spring we have been having on Long Island.--lorraine
I'm sending $25 today.
ReplyDeleteJane
I put my money where my mouth is, too. Easy and painless.
ReplyDeleteI recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
ReplyDeleteBetty
http://desktopmemory.info
Thank you for your support of Ethica's initiative. We hope it is clear to see how little it takes to keep families and cultures in tact and that those should be the goals of any civilized society first...with adoption as an option when other options are exhausted.
ReplyDeleteMelissa Griebel
I figured out what I spent to fill 27 Easter baskets for my children and grandchildren and realized it was more than her father earns in one year. That put some perspective on it for me. I then I sent a check to Ethica for Mercy James.
ReplyDeleteI've never liked it that "money talks" but in this case it's a way for all of us in the adoption community to be heard.
Believe me, I have a few choice words to say to Madonna and lots to say to Mercy and her family. I'll let my check to the talking!
I donated $40 a couple of weeks ago when first read about Ethica's efforts to help Mercy's family keep her. I am disappointed to learn that they haven't reached their goal yet; it didn't seem like that much money to obtain. Thanks for posting about this and I hope it inspires more people to donate.
ReplyDelete