Madonna has confirmed to media outlets that she is in Malawi to adopt Mercy James, and that she hopes the Friday court hearing will go her way. Madonna’s tireless publicist Liz Rosenberg also confirmed the meeting between David Banda and his biological father, saying, “Madonna is committed to maintaining an ongoing relationship with David’s Malawian roots.”

The Associated Press has the information on where the adoption case stands now, as well as information about the current protestations of the adoption. A coalition of Malawian non-governmental child-advocate groups called “Mwakusungula” has spoken out against Madonna’s adoption of a child with multiple living relatives. The AP has more:

Madonna has confirmed her attempts to adopt a young Malawian girl and said through a spokeswoman that she is following standard procedures in adopting the child amid criticism by some that she was using her fame to quicken the process.

The 50-year-old pop superstar also confirmed she took her 3-year-old son David, also adopted from Malawi, to visit with his biological father Yohane Banda for the first time since she and David left the country in 2006.

“Madonna is committed to maintaining an ongoing relationship with David’s Malawian roots,” said Liz Rosenberg in a statement Tuesday morning.

In her statement, Madonna confirmed she is trying to adopt a girl named Chifundo “Mercy” James who is about 4 years old. Malawian welfare official and another person involved in the proceedings had confirmed an adoption application was under way and spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is considered sensitive.

The girl’s 18-year-old mother was unmarried and died soon after she gave birth, according to the child’s uncle, John Ngalande. Her father is believed to be alive but has little contact with his daughter, he said.

A coalition of non-governmental organizations called Mwakusungula have criticized Madonna’s adoption attempts, saying that adoption should be the last resort and that children need to be taken care of by their own family.

“Mercy James is a child who has her extended close family members alive and we urge Madonna to assist the child from right here,” a statement from the coalition said.

But others have said that the adoption would give enormous opportunities to the child that she would be unable to achieve in the impoverished African nation. Malawian law is fuzzy on foreign adoptions. Regulations stipulate only that prospective parents undergo an 18- to 24-month assessment period in Malawi, a rule bent when Madonna was allowed to take David to London.

Madonna may also face challenges as a single mother; she divorced Guy Ritchie last year.

Madonna first traveled to Malawi in 2006 while filming a documentary on the devastating poverty and AIDS crisis. Her Raising Malawi organization, founded in 2006, raises funds to provide food, shelter, education and health care for children.

From The Associated Press

Ah, the oh-so convenient Raising Malawi charity. As it turns out, Fox News was one of the news outlets who wondered what exactly is happening with Raising Malawi and all of those millions of dollars Madonna has allegedly given and raised. Raising Malawi isn’t certified as a non-profit, and there are some serious questions about the $3.7 million fundraiser that Madonna and Gucci sponsored for Raising Malawi last year. The full Fox News report is here, but these are the basics:

Before Madonna “adopts” another child from Malawi, maybe someone should ask her where the money went from her big star studded 2008 fundraiser for that country.

We tried: this column has tried to ascertain from The Raising Malawi Foundation and from Madonna’s Kabbalah-backed Raising Malawi where the estimated $3.7 million has gone from the February 6, 2008 extravaganza. So far: No answers.

The fundraiser had some problems, however. Even though Raising Malawi had been in business for two years, it was still not approved as a sanctioned non profit at the time. Instead, Gucci formed its own Foundation — known as a 501 c3 — to collect the money. They brought UNICEF on board to give the event a feeling of legitimacy. But in the end, the efforts expended were for Raising Malawi, an organization founded by the Kabbalah Center of Los Angeles. Raising Malawi teaches the Kabbalah curriculum, called Spirituality for Kids, to Malawi orphans.

Now, fourteen months after the fundraiser, there’s no accounting for the money that came in. At the time, Gucci claimed that they’d underwritten the entire event, that $3.7 million had been raised and that it had been split between Raising Malawi and UNICEF.

But since then, The Gucci Foundation has still not filed a Form 990 tax statement, and neither has Raising Malawi. Calls to Gucci haven’t provided any information, and calls and e-mails to Raising Malawi haven’t been returned.

Where the money has gone — and the whole story of Raising Malawi — comes at an inconvenient time for Madonna.

From Fox News

I gave Madonna the benefit of the doubt last week, because I really want to believe that despite it all, The Gristle is a good mother who loves her kids. But I can’t turn my back on all of this controversy. What makes it worse (in my mind) is that Madonna seems to be actively courting these controversies. She seems to thrive on them, like, how could she try to adopt a child or hold a fundraiser without screwing it up so badly? How hard is it to hire a tax attorney to get your charity a non-profit status? How hard is it to follow adoption procedures?

Madonna is shown in Malawi on 3/30/09 with David and outside an adoption hearing. Credit: Fame Pictures