Unconventional, but...
THE POP STAR Madonna's adoption of a year-old boy in Malawi broke just about every rule of international adoption except one or two. I should know. My wife and I adopted two girls from China 13 and 12 years ago.
Madonna smoothed the way for her adoption by contributing several million dollars to orphanages in Malawi, a desperately poor country in southeast Africa. Adoption is rare in Africa, and Madonna made up the rules as she went along. She was able to pick and choose among several photos of babies, and she fixed on David Banda, a 1- year-old. When it became known that David's father was alive, a government minister volunteered to find him to secure his permission.
My spouse and I, like most other people, followed the rules. We worked through a licensed adoption agency -- in this case, Wide Horizons for Children in Waltham. It had established contacts with orphanages around the world, including several in China.
We requested an infant, but the orphanage decided who would be chosen. And even though we got a letter of approval and a picture of the baby girl (it was instant bonding), we had to wait 10 weeks in 1993 as the central government suspended the process. The second adoption went smoothly after the Chinese government had established ground rules for the entire country.
The downside of Madonna's approach is that the adoption is being contested in Malawian courts by human rights groups on the ground that she did not spend 18 months in the country, as the law apparently specifies. But David's father wants this adoption to succeed. And it's hard to see how David's rights will be protected if he goes back to the orphanage.
According to Time magazine, a million children in Malawi have lost at least one parent. That country needs to modernize its laws to accommodate more international adoptions while making sure children and their families are not exploited. In particular, that 18-month rule should change. China, for instance, expects adoptive parents to spend just a week or two in the country.
International adoptions are rare in Britain, where Madonna lives, but 22,728 children were adopted internationally by Americans in 2005, according to State Department figures. China had the most, 7,906, with Russia second at 4,636, and Guatemala third with 3,783. It's a great way to build or expand a family, giving a child a home while opening the entire family to another culture.
In Africa, a few countries are beginning to be receptive. The most open is Ethiopia, where 1,131 children were adopted by Americans over the past two years. One of the parents was actress Angelina Jolie, who worked through Wide Horizons. "She's a good parent, very hands-on with her children," said agency executive Vicki Peterson in a telephone interview yesterday. Unlike Madonna, Jolie followed the rules. At least, if press reports are accurate, Madonna did undergo a home study by a social worker to check on her and her husband's fitness as parents.
Madonna told Oprah Winfrey that she plans to visit Malawi at least once a year with David. She'll have to keep him connected to his Malawian relatives amid the public attention that always accompanies her.
It would have been better for David to grow up outside the public eye. Yet compared with his one year at the orphanage, his life is now open to great possibilities. When I visited the orphanage in China, I wanted to bring all the children I saw home. Couldn't do that, and neither could Madonna with the youngsters she saw on her visit to Malawi this month. But she got one out. Good for Madonna.
THOMAS GAGEN 
