Madonna and Her Kids Have Fun Playing Soccer, Dancing While Giving Back in Malawi, Africa

Madonna adopted four of her six children — twins Stella and Estere, daughter Mercy James, and son David Banda — from Malawi

Madonna is ending the year on a high note — with her children, giving back.

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 nonprofit aims to educate and support health services for countless orphans and children in the country. Madonna adopted the four kids from Malawi, bringing home David in 2008, Mercy in 2009, and the twins in 2017.

“Back that up to the Beat……in Malawi 

From dancing to photography and soccer, all four kids appeared to embrace being on the trip to the area the singer has previously called a “second home” to her.

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Inviting PEOPLE to join her in Malawi in July 2017 — when she opened the Mercy James Centre for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care, the nation’s first children’s hospital — Madonna opened up about her emotional adoption journey and why she’s dedicated to helping the children of Malawi.

Already mom to Lourdes (with former flame Carlos Leon) and Rocco (with ex-husband Guy Ritchie), the singer first saw son David Banda at Home of Hope, an orphanage in Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital city. He was a baby battling pneumonia and malaria at the time, and feeling an instant connection, she began the adoption process.

But when she brought him home to London in 2008, the reception wasn’t anything she’d imagined. “Every newspaper said I kidnapped him,” Madonna said. “In my mind, I was thinking, ‘Wait a minute. I’m trying to save somebody’s life. Why are you all s—-ing on me right now?’ I did everything by the book. That was a real low point for me. I would cry myself to sleep.”

Madonna met Mercy James around the same time as David, and adopting her was even more difficult. Because she had recently divorced Ritchie, Malawian officials told her “I was not capable of raising a child,” she said. “The way I was treated — that sexist behavior — was ridiculous,” added Madonna, who successfully challenged the refusal in Malawi’s Supreme Court.

MADONNA/INSTAGRAM

“I’ve had some pretty dark moments,” she said at the time, “but I’m a survivor.”

Despite her fame, adopting each of her children was a lengthy process that took the “Like a Prayer” singer years.

“Because I’m a public figure, people don’t want to be perceived as giving me any kind of special treatment, so I get the hard road.”

Added the proud mom: “It’s complicated, but it’s so worth it.”