As pop queen, Madonna begs her fans to dig deep and help fund the build of a girls school in Malawi, we ask of one of the wealthiest entertainers in the world, why can she find the funds out of her own pocket?
She has millions, and has famously charged huge amounts for her concert tickets over in the UK when Prince played several weeks for only just over £30 a ticket, yet she has posted a message on her website wishing her fans to pledge money to help build a girls school in Malawi, the same country where her adopted son David came from when she and her estranged husband, Guy Ritchie brought him back very controversially to the UK.
Madonna has said of the project to build the school in the developing country as being "very near and dear to my heart". Yet we have to say, why should the fans fork out for something which she could simply write a cheque for, as she has that much personal cash herself?
She says of the mission, that it will help "impoverished girls to reach their full potential". It appears to be all very convenient as the project was announced in May this year, only a few short months before the couple came public about their separation and impending divorce.
The project is called, the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls appeal, and hopes to give girls in the country a chance to have a western education. The pop icon said of the project,
"There are very few girls in Africa in general who are encouraged or allowed to go to secondary school. So after spending a lot of time there I realised that one of the ways I could help was to build a girls' school. Every donation counts towards helping impoverished girls to reach their full potential."
Malawi is home to millions who live deep below the poverty line. Who are exposed to the world's worse weather. Who live from one day to the next not knowing where the next meal is coming from - if pop stars like Madonna put aside a years wage, or even a month's for that matter - they could stop poverty tomorrow.
If such stars wish to be adored and respected further - this is surely the way forward - not ask the rest of us, who face the credit crunch to pay up.
