A lot has changed for little David Banda and Mercy James since their days of living in Malawi. Heading back there this week with their mother Madonna and siblings Lourdes and Rocco, those differences were made even more apparent.
Despite it being a matter of months since Mercy was adopted and left Africa for her new home with the pop star, she has really shot up in height. And as she and her four-year-old brother David met with relatives in the republic this week there was one other noticeable transition. As a result of her new English-speaking surroundings, Mercy has forgotten her native tongue. But she will no doubt follow in the footsteps of David - adopted from the Mchinji orphanage in 2007 – who demonstrated the results of lessons in his original language.
The visit – during which Madonna broke ground at her charity's new school for girls – included a tour of David's former home. And he and his mum were even shown the crib he used to sleep in, which must now seem a distant memory for the young boy. Lucy Chipeta, a carer from the orphanage, was delighted to see the children. "I am happy to see David look so happy. Madonna's a very good mother," she said. "I think she is more Malawian than American."
