Madonna Interview By: Meredith Vieira

Apparently, the father of adopted 13-month-old David Banda from Malawi (Yohane Banda) turned down financial aid from Madonna:

• On David’s father turning down financial aid: “When I met (Yohane), I said I would be happy to … to bring (David) back to your village and help you financially raise him. And he said no … I think he truly felt in his heart of hearts that – and who knows if he was telling me the truth – that he would have a better life with me. So, when he said no, that was my sign that it was my responsibility to look after him.”
• On doing things over again if she had to: “I mean, if you would have asked me a week ago when I was in…the depths of my depression, and just feeling so sad about the state of the world and how negative everybody was, I probably would have said no. But if you ask me today, I would say yes.”
• On raising David as a Christian, since that’s how he’s been raised: “I believe in Jesus and I study Kabbalah. So, I don’t see why he can’t too. The essence of the Kabbalah is the teachings of Jesus. You know, love your neighbor as yourself. If David decides he wants to be a Christian, then so be it. Studying Kabbalah doesn’t mean you can’t be a Christian or a Buddhist or a Muslim or a Jew or whatever.”
• On David’s personality: “He’s got a terrible temper. He’s very flirtatious. And he’s hysterically funny.”

Watch the video after the jump!