It looks as if Madonna is following in Oprah's footsteps, as the perennial pop star plans on opening a school in Malawi. Madge first became interested in the poverty-stricken African nation, where one million children are orphaned by AIDS, a few years ago and subsequently adopted one of those orphans, her three-year-old son David. Madonna plans on opening her own girls school in Malawi in the near future and tells the harrowing history of Malawi in her documentary, I Am Because We Are. The Sundance Channel hosted the film's television debut (its audience was previously limited to isolated theater screenings) December 1, also World AIDS Day. Directed by Nathan Rissman, not Madge's soon-to-be ex-husband director Guy Ritchie, I Am Because We Are was written, produced and narrated by Madonna. The documentary relies on poignant imagery to convey Madonna's message about Malawi, although experts like Archbishop Desmond Tutu and President Bill Clinton make appearances.

In a phone interview with the Associated Press, Madonna said she had "many goals" for her documentary: "I did get to a point where I thought, 'I'm being overambitious, I'm trying to say too much, I'll never accomplish it.' But I feel proud of the fact I did get to make all my points." One such point is that there is a solution to the problem plaguing Malawi, and the Material Girl tells her audience, "If all you can do is live life in YOUR world in a way that shows you are responsible for the people around you, that's a course of action. People can be of service in large ways and small."

Madonna is sure keeping busy in light of her recent highly-publicized split with Guy Ritchie, her husband of eight years. She told the Associated Press the divorce was "not easy, I'm not going to lie," but appears to be throwing herself into her work to cope. Madonna told the AP that she will be travelling to Malawi at the end of March with David, her 8-year-old son Rocco and 12-year-old daughter Lourdes because she is "very involved in a lot of things that are going on there" and wants David to "understand where he came from, and what his life could have been like." Madonna hopes that I Am Because We Are will increase the public's awareness of the crisis in Malawi, saying, "The more people, the bigger the impact." Madge doesn't appear to be having any trouble gathering a crowd, if ticket sales for her recent tour are any proof. Check out http://www.stubhub.com/madonna-tickets for Madonna tickets.

Madonna just wrapped up the U.S. leg of her Sticky & Sweet Tour the Wednesday before Thanksgiving at Miami's Dolphin Stadium. Madge's U.S. jaunt sold about 550,000 tickets over the course of 28 shows and grossed $91.5 million according to Live Nation, which signed Madonna to a massive 360 contract. If you count the Material Girl's European shows that preceded her American itinerary, the Sticky & Sweet Tour grossed $207.5 million in ticket sales. Madonna played two shows in Mexico City Thanksgiving weekend and will continue to play in Latin and South America, finishing her tour in Sao Paolo, Brazil December 18-21. The Sticky & Sweet Tour, which is in support of Madonna's most recent album, Hard Candy, will take in an estimated $282 million, rendering it the top grossing tour ever by both a female artist and a solo artist. To see the Material Girl on her next sweep of the States, get your Madonna tickets from StubHub.