Madonna & The Children Tour Malawi

Madonna was pictured with three of her children, Lourdes, 13, David, 4, and Mercy, 3, while visiting the Mphandu la Orphanage in the Namitete area outside Lilongwe, Malawi on Thursday (October 29). Madonna's 9-year-old son Rocco was not spotted with the group.

While visiting David's former orphanage, the center's director reports to Us that "It was an emotional moment," noting that Madonna wept. "David is too young to understand . . . but for us who remember the sickly tiny little baby of 2006, it was hard to hold back tears, including Madonna." The orphanage founder adds, "He is so boisterous! I can't believe he is the same chap of 2006."

Madonna's Raising Malawi charity has recently built numerous buildings for the orphaned children of Malawi. One young orphan proclaimed his appreciation to the pop star:

You are our god. Where could we have been without you?"

Malawi is one of the southern African countries devastated by HIV/AIDS. At least 14 per cent of the 13.1 million population has HIV. There are over 2 million orphans in Malawi, half of them as a direct result of HIV/AIDS.