Madonna in Kenya for second time in two years

 American singer Madonna in Kenya. (Courtesy)

American singer Madonna is back in Kenya, two years after her last visit.

In Instagram stories uploaded on January 3, the singer revealed her arrival and embarked on charity work.

On the first post, the singer uploaded a photo of the entrance of Shofco - Kibera School For The Girls, captioning it “Girl power in Kibera.”

The school is run by a non-profit organisation, Shining Hope For Communities (Shofco), which is described on its website as “a grassroots movement that catalyses large-scale transformation in urban slums by providing critical services for all, community advocacy platforms, and education and leadership development for women and girls.”

The  La Isla Bonita singer shared photos while bonding with children at the institution, with captions like “New Friends” and “We are Family.”

Madonna celebrated some renovations and recent accomplishments of Shofco in Kibera, including a collage of “the tree of life”, a water tank and a new library.

She also visited an art gallery in Kibera, sharing photos of some of the artists and their work.

In another image, Madonna and Kennedy Odede, a community organiser and the founder of Shofco look towards the slum characterised by the rusted corrugated iron sheet roofing.

“With the amazing Kennedy Odede,” Madonna captioned the image.

She also visited a women’s empowerment centre, and in another Instagram story, encouraged her 18.6 million followers to “dream big in 2023.”

Challenging conditions

The singer addressed her presence in the country with a post on her Instagram Grid, where she described her experience as being “impressed” with the ongoing charity projects in Kibera.

“My children created a mural of broken glass in Kibera in honour of the great work that Kennedy Odede is doing at Shofco, an organisation he created when he was a child living in the slums of Nairobi to improve the lives of families living in these challenging conditions,” Madonna wrote.

“Focusing on filtering the water, education, enabling loans for women and men to start up businesses and putting a stop to gender-based violence by empowering women, taking legal action and giving them a safe place to rebuild their lives. We are very impressed with his work and his commitment to this community and excited to continue working with him and his wife Jessica!”

Telling stories

She compiled her activities in Kibera in a heart-warming reel posted on the app.

Madonna started her trip to Africa with a stay in Malawi. “Back that up to the beat… in Malawi. Streaming on all platforms now,” the singer captioned an Instagram reel that features various clips from her trip. 

People magazine writes that the singer has adopted four of her six children from Malawi, and she was in their company for her charity work there.

“The ‘Material Girl’ singer, 64, posted a fun Instagram Reel on Friday showing her and her four younger children — twins Stella and Estere, 10, daughter Mercy James, 16, and son David Banda, 17 — spending time in Africa and supporting her charity, Raising Malawi, founded in 2006,” the magazine reported.

“The non-profit aims to educate and support health services for countless orphans and children in the country. Madonna adopted the four children from Malawi, bringing home David in 2008, Mercy in 2009, and the twins in 2017.”

Madonna was last in Kenya in January 2021, when she was accompanied by her ex-partner Ahlamalik Williams. At the time, the seven-time Grammy winner explored Samburu county and marveled at the rich culture. “Spending time with the Samburu tribe is always an honour. They are nomadic warriors and here the men are singing, dancing and telling stories to attract the attention of the females,” she wrote then.

“Visiting the Pokot tribe was a special moment for all of us. They invited us to dance with them and shared their daily prayer of thanks.”