Madonna and Guy Richie’s adoption plans are all falling apart. The material girl is looking into adopt another baby from Malawi, where she adopted son David Banda from, but has been set back by the fact that the little girl’s family doesn’t want her taken away from them.

But in a devastating blow to Madonna’s dream, Mercy’s defiant uncle John Ngalande insisted that the 20-month-old girl will live with him.

Speaking from Malawi, John told The People: “I would rather we be poor and struggling with Mercy, than for her to go and live with a big white star far away.”

Mercy was put in an orphanage when her 18-year-old mother Mwandida Maunde died. Her father was a schoolboy and has played little part in her life.

John, 36, revealed that he always expected the tot would eventually live with him and is outraged at the thought of her being taken away by 49-year-old Madonna.

John said: “We were told when Mercy went into the orphanage that we would be in constant contact with her and that she would come back to us after six years. I would like to stick to that.

“Whether it be Madonna or any other white person, I’m against our child being taken away.”

The People

Madonna’s adoption of David is yet to be completed, with UK tabloid The People claiming there will be two more visits from an adoption official and a Malawi court appearance to finalize the process. I’m not sure if she would have to go through similar scrutiny for a second adoption, as Malawi has no formal adoption process.

The final court decision around David is said to take place in April, which is when it is suggested that Madonna would have liked to take Mercy home to London.

While some people might think that it is better to raise a child in wealth in London, I’m really glad that the family can just say no. A far bigger tragedy for the family would be to lose their child – and if adoption officials can be sent to London to investigate, surely the cost of an international airfare would go a long way to helping them raise the child themselves. Unfortunately, Malawi is a very poor country, and so many children are separated from their families not just because of death, but also because of poverty.

Obviously Madonna could probably give money to the family for the little girl too, but I think the issue is more that they aren’t able to take care of a small child than the cost. Besides, no matter how much money you have, you can never right all the world’s wrongs.

Note by Celebitchy: I think the issue is that the family isn’t about to take care of a child because they have to work all day, which they wouldn’t have to do if they had the pittance that Madonna would need to give them to be able to eat and clothe themselves in Malawi. Still, I doubt this story is true, considering that it originated in a random paper I haven’t heard of before.

Pictures are of Madonna and Davie on their trip to Africa in April, where Madonna shafted Davie’s dad at the last minute, denying him a chance to see the infant son he had to give up.