Raising Malawi

Raising Malawi is a charity non-profit organisation, co-founded by Madonna and Michael Berg in 2006. It is dedicated to helping with the extreme poverty and hardship endured by Malawi's one million orphans.

Mission statement

"Since 2006, Raising Malawi has been dedicated to bringing an end to the extreme poverty and hardship endured by Malawi’s one million orphans. Co-founded by Madonna and Michael Berg, Raising Malawi uses a community-based approach to provide immediate direct physical assistance, create long-term sustainability, support education and psycho-social programs, and build public awareness through multimedia and worldwide volunteer efforts.
As a part of its activities, Raising Malawi works to distribute financial support that will help community-based organizations provide vulnerable children with nutritious food, proper clothing, secure shelter, formal education, targeted medical care, and emotional support. We do not create or manage our own programs in Malawi; rather we support dedicated people on the ground and in the villages, the ones closest to the realities that exist. We believe in empowering the smartest and most caring of those people, the ones who understand the challenges and the solutions.
By choosing to work at a community-based level, rather than trying to impose Western beliefs and methodologies on a different culture, real and lasting change is occurring in the lives of hundreds of thousands of impoverished children in Malawi." [http://www.raisingmalawi.org/rm_mission.php]

Charity fundraiser

On February 6th 2008, Madonna and Gucci hosted a fundraiser on the North Lawn of the United Nations in New York to benefit Raising Malawi & UNICEF. [http://www.unicefusa.org/news/releases/a-night-to-benefit-raising.html]

Documentary

In May, 2008 Madonna hosted the premiere of a documentary that she wrote and produced titled, "I Am Because We Are", at the Tribeca Film Festival. [http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/filmguide/I_Am_Because_We_Are.html] Directed by Nathan Rissman, the film follows the stories of several Malawian children who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS and poverty. [http://www.iambecauseweare.com]

The documentary was also screened at the Cannes Film Festival in connection with the 2008 amfAR Cinema Against AIDS gala, [http://www.raisingmalawi.org/blog_cannes.php] and at the Traverse City Film Festival in Michigan.

Board Members

Executive Team
*Madonna - Co-founder,
*Michael Berg - Co-founder,
*Monica Berg - Co-founder,
*Philippe van den Bossche - Executive Director,
*Rachel Strickland - Director of Communications,
*Jules Redlich - General Counsel,
*David Reifman, Esq. - Legal Counsel,
*Elisa Pittman - Director of Community Relations,

Malawi-based Activities
*Victoria Keelan - Chairman, Raising Trust,
*Lois Silo - Program Coordinator, Raising Trust,
*Sylvia Namakhwa - Program Director, SFK-Malawi,
*Alan Chinula, Esq. - General Counsel, Raising Trust,

Advisory Board
*Maki Park, EDM - Chief Advisor, Education Consultant,
*Heath Grant, PhD - Chief Advisor, Psycho-Social Programming,
*Eric Borgstein, MD - Chief Advisor, Pediatric Care,
*Sam Merabi, DDS - Chief Advisor, Oral Health,
*Drew Zager - Chief Advisor, Finance,

Source: [http://www.raisingmalawi.org/rm_team.php]

Website

Official Website: [http://www.raisingmalawi.org]

Related articles

*"Madonna Finds A Cause" [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1223372,00.html]
*"Madonna's Malawi" [http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/07/malawi_slideshow200707]
*"Saving Malawi's Children" [http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/07/kim200707]
*"A Night to Benefit Raising Malawi & UNICEF" [http://www.unicefusa.org/news/releases/a-night-to-benefit-raising.html]