A high-profile organization co-founded by the singer Madonna to build a school for poor girls in Malawi, has come under fire, with its board replaced by a caretaker team and its plans to build the school, dropped.
Michael Berg, a co-director of the U.S.-based Kabbalah Center International and Madonna’s co-founder in the foundation, announced the board’s replacement and the decision to “to discontinue plans for the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, as it was originally conceived” in an email to members of the center who contributed to the project, The New York Times reports.
The former executive director of Raising Malawi, who left in October 2010, has been criticized for his management style and some $3.8 million in cost overruns for the proposed school, which has not yet started construction.
The New York Times, citing foundation officials, reports that Raising Malawi will not disband and will use money intended for the school in different ways to help the poor. In a statement, Madonna said she still intends to use Raising Malawi to push for improvement in the African country’s education sector.
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