Offbeat | Madonna at opening of children’s wing of Malawi hospital
Madonna is in Malawi for the official opening of a hospital children’s wing that her charity funded.
The Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care, located at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in the city of Blantyre, was built in collaboration with Malawi’s health ministry. It has already started some activities and the pop star said last week that the institute had completed its first surgery.
President Peter Mutharika was to attend the official opening yesterday.
Madonna has adopted four children from Malawi: David Banda, Mercy James, Stelle and Estere. The children’s wing was named after 11-year-old Mercy.
Madonna’s charity, Raising Malawi, has built schools in the southern African country and funded the new pediatric unit, which began construction in 2015. Madonna, 58, visited the site last year.
