Madonna sung to by orphans

Oct 6, 2006, 12:57 GMT

Madonna- REUTERS/Kieran Doherty

Madonna was greeted by a crowd of singing Malawi orphans when she visited an orphanage yesterday (05.10.06).

The singer was accompanied by her British director husband Guy Ritchie for the trip to the orphanage in the village of Kondanani, where a group of 28 children serenaded her on her arrival.

Orphanage director Anne Chikhwaza said: "She and her husband are very lovely. She has a kind heart and she really wants to help."

The orphanage, which is known as a children's village, is home to 128 children, many of whom have lost one or both parents to AIDS.

Madonna, 48, is in the impoverished African country to promote her project Raising Malawi, which aims to set up an orphan car centre to provide food, education and shelter for up to 4,000 children.

She has pledged to spend £1.6 million on the project and is filming a documentary about her mission.

The 'Hung Up' singer - who has a nine-year-old daughter, Lourdes, from her relationship with fitness instructor Carlos Leon, and son Rocco, five, with Ritchie - was rumoured to be adopting a one-year-old orphan boy herself.

However, her spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, has denied reports Madonna is set to welcome an underprivileged child into her family.

Rosenberg said: "I have no information or confirmation regarding Madonna adopting an individual child. She's kind of adopting an entire country of children."

(C) BANG Media International