The entire issue is dedicated to Africa. There are 20 covers photographed by Annie Leibovitz.
The Cover Shoot
In it, Madonna talks about Raising Malawi.
What is really cool for me is that I met some of the people featured in the Malawi article and am growing much more aquainted with others.For one, Madonna says that she was first introduced to Malawi by Victoria Keelan, a native Malawian businesswoman.
I know Victoria Keelan from the Raising Malawi charity video updates. She is the first person to appear in this video. Remember, I have a cameo appearance in the same video....6.5 mins in, so now I'm feeling doubly honored!
I met Nathan Rissman, who is the director working on the Malawi documentary. I included a picture of him on my "Memories of Malawi" blog entry.
I met Fanizo show below here, who Nathan introduced me to. I shook his hand and visited the school (er...concrete hut) he attends. I took a picture of the kids in his village all huddled in the rain under a single umbrella. (see "Memories of Malawi" entry). Fanizo is an orphan and now aged 14, is on his own to pay for further education. He's a lovely boy. I truly wish him well (and money for school!).
I clicked on more photos from Malawi on the Vanity Fair website, to discover Kristen Ashburn here as the Kristen I met on this trip.
She was on the tail end of her visit when I arrived, so I didn't get to know her too well, but I really liked her. So much that I brought her filthy muddy shoes she left in Africa all the way back to New York with me (as we both live there), per Maureen's request. Maureen runs the lodge. I had no idea Kristen was such a big deal in the photography world! I should've guessed! Hey Kristen, I have your shoes if you want them. P.S., I'm loving your work! I had no idea! And lastly, my new heroes Jim Yong Kim (shown below) and Paul Farmer who are the renegade pioneers of Partners In Health. Jim Yong Kim interviewed Madonna. You can read it on vf.com.
4 comments:
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If you have something to contribute, you are not going about it the right way.
An anonymous post of question marks couldn't be more ambiguous. Or unproductive.
Julia is as open minded as it gets. All thoughts are welcome. But a post this vague is impossible to respond to. Especially to someone who is putting it out there on behalf of so many that need it!
Just saying.
David Duncan.
The charity 'Raising Malawi' (PR firm) founded by Madonna AND TWO OTHERS over three years ago held fund raisers for over two years before finally getting registered as a non-profit. In other words, Madonna and the others were free to squander the lion's share of that funding any way they saw fit for those first two years. She also pleaded with her fans worldwide for donations along the way. In the meantime, she toured the world to promote her latest CD and raked in another $280,000,000 gross in just over 12 months. To date, the basic financial info for 'Rasing Malawi' still hasn't been posted on the website or anywhere else. The 'progress' page only tells of the collective works by over 20 seperate charities. Each of which have their own sources of funding and may have recieved some sort of promotion or support from 'Raising Malawi' in order to be considered 'partners'. But no indication is made how much of their funding came from 'Raising Malawi' or how much of their progress if any could be directly attributed to 'Raising Malawi'. The fans/donors have no clue how many millions of dollars were raised in that first two years, no clue how much Madonna herself chipped in, and no clue how the money was spent before they finally registered as a non-profit. No clue what fraction of funding or works listed on that 'progress' page could be directly attributed to 'Raising Malawi'. Nothing to go on but the vague word of Madonna. The vague and very misleading word of Madonna. For example: She states in her latest promotional video that she will match any contributions made to her charity (PR firm) "dollar for dollar". However, there is a disclaimer posted on the website for 'Raising Malawi' that Madonna's total contribution will not exceed $100,000. Thats not per donation. Thats a maximum of $100,000 TOTAL. Less than a single days pay for Madonna. Also much less then she will surely rake in by promoting her own CDs, DVDs, and 'for profit' merchandise through this massive worldwide publicity stunt. So I called the office of 'Raising Malawi' in an attempt to verify some sort of efficient financial operation (310) 867-2881 or (888) 72-DONOR). These details are ALWAYS made available by legitimate charities to their potential donors. But not in this case. I got nothing but recorded messages and hangups. So I did some research on my own. 'Rasing Malawi' still hasn't been given any kind of rating by ANY independent charity watchdog like Charitywatch.org. The vast overwhelming majority of 'celebrity' foundations never are. In general, they are inneficient and riddled with corruption. Like the promotion of CDs, world tours, commercial websites, entire lines of jewelry (not just the single piece from which proceeds are donated), and high end fashion retail flagship stores. Celebrity foundations are also notorious for squandering much of their funding on private jet rides and super high end accomodations for their managers, PR crews, and celebrity figure heads. Its legal even for a nonprofit but not noble or efficient by any stretch of the imagination. In general, 'celebrity' foundations are a twisted inefficient mutant of charity, self-promotion, exotic travel, and PR crap. Still, they compete for funding with more efficient legitimate charities who do more work with less money. The celebrity figure heads often disregard the primary donors, co-founders, and managers, take personal credit for any collective work done, and seek maximum publicity shortly before or after the release of their own commercial projects. Its a sham. So if its not rated, then don't support it. Instead, support a top rated charity like any of those given high ratings at Charitywatch.org.
Agree with Anonymous totally. These celeb charities and foundations should be forced to show their credentials by publishing an annual report and audited accounts which must be made available to all donors.
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