As Madonna takes steps to adopt a second Malawian child, international development charity ActionAid called on the British public to ensure that other children in Malawi can remain in their communities and face a future with hope.

The charity currently has 400 children in Malawi who need to be sponsored.

Richard Turner, ActionAid’s Fundraising Director said: “Madonna’s proposed adoption has highlighted the dire poverty faced by so many children in Malawi.

“We are desperate for kind-hearted Brits to sponsor the 400 children currently on our books in Malawi and help give them a better start in life.”

ActionAid says child sponsorship has already transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and is one of the most rewarding ways of assisting families in the developing world.

It says that sponsors’ money helps towards securing a decent education, better health care and economic security for children and the communities in which they live.

Richard Turner concluded: “Not everyone can adopt a child from a poor country such as Malawi nor would they necessarily want to, but most people can afford to sponsor a child.”

To find out more about sponsorship go to www.actionaid.org.uk or phone 01460 23 8000

ENDS

For further information contact Freya Paleit, ActionAid UK media office on 0207 561 7572 / 07957 684 973, Freya.Paleit@actionaid.org

ActionAid works in Africa, Asia and the Americas to eradicate global poverty and injustice
www.actionaid.org.uk