EXCLUSIVE: Sisters of Madonna's newly adopted Malawian twins insist they are thrilled the girls have been whisked away to a life of luxury, while they struggle in poverty-stricken village on 40p a day 

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The elder sisters of the twins adopted by Madonna in Malawi have spoken of their happiness that the girls have been given a new life of luxury – as they are left behind in their poverty-stricken village.

Alinefe and Tifa Mwale insist they are thrilled the four-year-old girls would get the chance to fulfill their dreams in the US with the pop superstar.

‘I am very happy for them,’ said 15-year-old Alinefe.

‘They will have a good education and they can live out their dreams. They are with someone who wants them and will love them so much.

Delighted for the twins: Tifa (left) and Alinefe (right) Mwale say they are thrilled their youngster sisters Stella and Esther will get the chance to fulfill their dreams in the United States, where they have arrived after being adopted by superstar Madonna 

Thrilled: Alinefe (left) and Tifa (right), pictured with step brother Kennedy in the remote village of Kayembe, Malawi, in their home which has no running water or electricity. Their younger sisters grew up in an orphanage after the death of their mother in 2012 

The home of the twins' father, Adam Mwale, in the village of Kayembe, Malawi, which does not have running water, electricity or a toilet. Their home is a brick and clay building they share with their father, their stepmother Anna and two other siblings, Kennedy, aged seven, and Gladys, aged 18

Young children pictured in Kayembe, which can be reached by travelling along a rough, muddy track only accessible by a 4x4 off road type vehicle. The twins had been left in an orphanage since birth after their mother Patricia died from a loss of blood following a caesarean section delivery in August 2012

 Custody of the twins: Madonna has whisked Stella and Esther away from a life of poverty in Malawi. She shared a picture on Instagram of her walking hand-in-hand with the girls as their adoption was confirmed

‘I am glad they are part of a family and they now have a mother who will love them.

‘I want them to grow old being loved and to have people who cherish them.’

Her younger sister aged 13 said: ‘We only found out a day ago that they were in America. I do not know where that is but we are happy for them. I wish them well and hope their life will be one they are content with.’

Stella and Esther Mwale are now in New York at the 58-year-old star’s luxurious £32m townhouse getting to know their new family including siblings David Banda and Mercy James, whom Madonna also adopted from Malawi.

The girls were flown to the US on a private jet after a judge ruled earlier this week that the star could legally adopt the girls and take them out of the impoverished African country.

An overjoyed Madonna posted a photo of herself holding the twins hands as she announced to her fans and the world on Instagram that she was now their proud mother.

The twins had been left in an orphanage since birth after their mother Patricia died from a loss of blood following a caesarean section delivery in August 2012.

Remote location: The twins' family live in the impoverished village of Kayembe, which is about 26 miles from capital city Lilongwe in Malawi

Basic facilities: With five other families in the cluster of brick and mud huts, the Mwales share a bathroom that has a roof constructed of straw and plastic bags. There is no running water with 32 people who live in their area standing on planks to stop their feet getting muddy

Remembering tragic mother: Villagers gather at the gravestone of the twins' mother, Patricia, who died in 2012. Their father Adam's inability to earn enough to feed his family after the twins were born that prompted him to put Stella and Esther into the orphanage

Pleased: The twins' older sister Tifa Mwale, 13, said: 'I wish them well and hope their life will be one they are content with'

Another world: Inside the home where the twins' family lives, 26 miles from Malawi's capital, Lilongwe. The girls do not have beds and sleep on the tarmac floor, which during the summer when temperatures hit the 40s, remains relatively cool

Playful: Children play in the village, where the twins' family live in a brick and clay house. Chickens and goats wander around the village where the young children are dressed in torn, tatty and stained clothes

Hard life: None of the villagers have a car, so have to use bicycles or walk to the nearest main town, which is 10km away. Their only source of contact with the outside world is what other people pass on when they walk to the local school

Madonna had said she felt ‘compelled’ to seek their adoption after hearing their tragic story.

MailOnline tracked down the family of her new daughters to a remote village called Kayembe in the heart of the lush green maize fields 26 miles from the capital Lilongwe.

The elder sisters, neatly dressed in school uniforms, were looking after their younger stepbrother, seven-year-old Kennedy.

Their father Adam, who has signed over all parental rights of Stella and Esther to Madonna, had left the family home to look for work in neighbouring Zambia about 35 miles away from the village.

Scorching sun: Sisters Alinefe and Tifa stand outside the clay building where they live, which doesn't have running water, electricity or a toilet

No modern conveniences: The family home in impoverished Malawi is a stark contrast to the luxurious home the twins have moved into in New York. The only light at night an oil powered lamp or a small solar powered torch

Worlds apart: A large group of children in the scorching sun, as far removed from what the twins will enjoy as humanly possible. Some wore Premier League football shirts with one boy sporting a blue Chelsea shirt with the name Lampard emblazoned on the back. The youngster had no idea who the player was or that Chelsea were a football team

The life of Alinefe and Tifa is about as far removed from what their sisters will now enjoy as humanly possible.

They live in a primitive brick and clay built house that does not have running water, electricity or a toilet.

Without a single home comfort it is simply a place where they can sleep at night and be sheltered from the scorching African sun during the day.

Speaking through an interpreter, the pair revealed that they had never met the twins.

Too poor to travel: Alinefe, Kennedy and Tifa only found out that their sisters Stella and Esther had been adopted by one of the world's most famous singers after hearing a news report on the radio. They said they were too poor to afford the bus fare to travel to the Home of Hope orphanage, so had never met the twins

Staying put: Alinefe (left), Tifa (centre) and step brother Kennedy have been left behind in Kayembe after their four-year-old sisters were adopted by Madonna. Their father, Adam, is away from home working in Zambia

Large families: While Madonna visited the twins at the orphanage on several occasions she did not make the trek to Kayembe to see where their family lived. Most women in the village have between five and seven children. Contraception is unheard of and it is a cultural tradition for women to bear multiple children

They said they were too poor to afford the bus fare to travel the 40 miles to the town of Mchinji where Stella and Esther grew up in the Home of Hope orphanage.

Their father Adam, 42, had not told them the twins were being adopted by one of the world’s most recognisable performers and they only found out after friends told them they heard a news report about the adoption on the radio earlier this week.

Neither Alinefe or Tifa had previously heard of Madonna, listened to one of her records or watched a video of the most successful female artist of all time.

Unlike many teenagers there are no social media accounts, no laptop computer, TV or mobile phone.

Surprised: Tifa said after their sisters were adopted: 'We only found out a day ago that they were in America. I do not know where that is but we are happy for them'

No electricity: The family's home has no amenities and the only real nod to the 21st Century is a mobile phone being charged on a table with a battery

Amid the greenery: The village is in the heart of the lush green maize fields 26 miles from the capital Lilongwe, and Stella and Esther's sisters live on a budget of less than 40p a day

Their home is a brick and clay building they share with their father, their stepmother Anna and two other siblings, Kennedy, aged seven, and Gladys, aged 18.

It has no amenities and the only real nod to the 21st Century is a mobile phone being charged on a table.

As there is no electricity it was being charged via a tangle of cables and wires to a car battery.

Beauties: Madonna posted this image of her daughter Lourdes with twins Stella and Esther to her 8.7million Instagram followers during a visit to the Home of Hope orphanage in Malawi last year

Community: While Esther and Stella will have a cook that prepares their meals, the girls survive on a daily diet of Msima, a mixture of flour and maize that is hardened into a porridge like substance

Water supply: Water is brought to homes in the village through a well that the many children take in turns to operate with a handle

A single battery operated radio sat on the floor is the only provider of entertainment for Alinefe and Tifas as well as the other children.

The girls do not have beds and sleep on the tarmac floor, which during the summer when temperatures hit the 40s, remains relatively cool.

The girls have no furniture in the bedroom that is shared by all four siblings.

The only light at night an oil powered lamp or a small solar powered torch.

A corrugated metal roof keeps out the often-torrential rain than turns the 10km route into the village into a unpassable quagmire.

Visitor: Daily Mail online reporter Paul Thompson talks to children in the village of Kayembe, where the family of the twins adopted by Madonna lives on a budget of less than 40p per day

Home of Hope: Madonna visited Malawi last year and spent time at the orphanage where Stella and Esther were living. She posted a series of images from her visit, above

Impoverished: Such is the family’s life of deprivation they can only wonder what it would be like to sleep in a bed with sheets and have a bathroom with hot and cold running water

Their only source of contact with the outside world is what other people pass on when they walk to the local school.

The sisters have no idea about New York City, or even America, having never travelled outside of their village. They have no concept of what it would be like to fly or even travel in a car.

When the name Madonna is mentioned to them, the girls smiled sweetly and shrugged.

‘We heard that Stella and Esther have been adopted but we did not know anything about it before it took place,’ said Alinefe.

‘I have never heard of this person they are with. No one here has heard of Madonna. Is she a famous person? She must be nice if she has taken the twins.

‘Our father had never mentioned anything to us. We knew the girls were in an orphanage but we never had the money to go and visit them.

There was some criticism over Madonna's adoption as she is not a resident of the nation but the judge ruled the singer, 58, would provide a loving family life for the children. Pictured: Orphanage worker Estelina Kalumpha plays with Esther and Stella as toddlers

Village life: Inside a home in the impoverished village of Kayembe, which do not have electricity or running water, and where people survive on a daily diet of Msima, a mixture of flour and maize

Remote: The village is so remote that it can only be reached by travelling along a rough, muddy track that is only accessible by a 4x4 off road type vehicle

‘I am sad I will not ever see them again but I am happy for them getting a new life.’

Such is the family’s life of deprivation they can only wonder what it would be like to sleep in a bed with sheets and have a bathroom with hot and cold running water.

Since being born, with water in precious supply, they have not had a single hot shower.

While Esther and Stella will have a cook that prepares their meals, the girls survive on a daily diet of Msima, a mixture of flour and maize that is hardened into a porridge like substance.

If they are lucky they might have some bits of chicken or goat added to spice up the meal. The only fast food they have ever tasted is a raw corn on the cob picked from the nearby fields.

While Madonna visited the twins at the orphanage on several occasions she did not make the trek to Kayembe to see where their family lived.

The village can be reached by travelling along a rough, muddy track that is only accessible by a 4x4 off road type vehicle.

None of the villagers have a car so use bicycles to travel the 10km to the nearest main town.

'Madonna must be nice': Alinefe said of Madonna: ‘I have never heard of this person they are with. No one here has heard of Madonna. Is she a famous person? She must be nice if she has taken the twins'

Daily diet: A bucket of cakes in the village, where inhabitants are lucky if they have some bits of chicken or goat added to spice up the meal. The only fast food the twins' sisters have ever tasted is a raw corn on the cob picked from the nearby fields

Court papers revealed that Madonna felt 'compelled' to adopt four-year-old twin girls Esther and Stella from the Home of Hope Orphanage after hearing of their plight. Pictured: Madonna with Mercy James (right) and David Banda (left), both adopted from Malawi, in 2013

Despite the Mwale family’s meagre existence, neither girl showed a trace of envy towards the life Stella and Esther will now lead.

It is doubtful they can comprehend just how the lives of Stella and Esther will be different from their own.

Alinefe and Tifa live a day-to-day existence and survive on less than 40p a day, the twins have been taken into a world of privilege and luxury far beyond the wildest dreams of any orphan or ordinary child.

With five other families in the cluster of brick and mud huts, the Mwales share a bathroom that has a roof constructed of straw and plastic bags.

There is no running water with 40 people who live in their area standing on planks to stop their feet getting muddy.

A short distance away is a crumbling building with a hole in the ground that serves as a communal toilet.

Water is brought to the homes through a well that the many children take in turns to operate with a handle.

Chickens and goats wander around the village where the young children are dressed in torn, tatty and stained clothes.

None of the dozen children aged from two to eight had shoes. Some wore Premier League football shirts with one boy sporting a blue Chelsea shirt with the name Lampard emblazoned on the back.

The youngster had no idea who the player was or that Chelsea were a football team.

One young girl proudly walked around with a shower cap on her head clutching an empty shower gel bottle.

While the children attend school they have not learnt to speak English.

The primary school in the centre of the village is where Alinefe and Tifa’s lives revolve around.

They are up at 6am most mornings and after a breakfast of Msima set off for the half mile walk to the classroom.

Lessons last until the afternoon when the girls return and help around the village, gathering firewood or looking after the more than dozen small children.

Their daily routine will never change until they are considered old enough at the age of 15 to marry and start having children

Missed: The grave of the twins' mother, who died in August 2012 from a loss of blood following a caesarean section delivery. Their father, Adam, was unable to cope with bringing up the twins, and they grew up in an orphanage

Superstar: Madonna, who has adopted the twins this week, was pictured among Malawian children during a visit to Mkoko Primary School, one of the schools her Raising Malawi organisation has jointly built up

Most women in the village have between five and seven children. Contraception is unheard of and it is a cultural tradition for women to bear multiple children.

Villagers told MailOnline that the twins father Adam was often away from home looking for work in Zambia or farms surrounding the village.

As a farm labourer working on crops such as maize and ground nuts he would earn about 10,000 Malawian Kwacha each month – the equivalent to £11 a month.

With that amount – about 36 pence a day – he has to clothe and feed his family.

His sister-in-law Lena Mastala said it was his inability to earn enough to feed his family after the twins were born that prompted him to put Stella and Esther into the orphanage.

Ready for take off: The 58-year-old pop star and the girls Stella and Esther were both said to be excited when the judge ruled in her favour for adoption

Life of luxury: The twins are now in New York at Madonna's luxurious £32million townhouse, where they will be afforded opportunities they would not have had in their home country

Villagers recalled how their mother Patricia was rushed to hospital in Mchinji to give birth in August 2012.

She underwent a Caesarean but bled to death as she was anemic and the hospital did not have enough blood supplies.

Her husband was said by other villagers to be ‘completely devastated’ and used what little money he had to give her a proper burial in the village by paying for a gravestone.

Unlike dozens of others who are buried in an unmarked grave, Patricia has a headstone bearing her name, aged and the words ‘God Rest Her Soul.’

Returning home: Large amounts of luggage arrive moments after Madonna returned home to New York after successfully adopting the twins in Malawi

The twins’ mum, who died aged 36, had five other children and had been with her husband Adam since the age of 15.

After her death the twins lived with their grandmother in a neighbouring village with their other siblings as their father often away working.

When their grandmother – who has since died – was unable to cope the twins were placed with the orphanage.

Lena Mastala, who is their aunt, said members of the extended family never visited them.

‘It was too far to travel to see them and they were being well looked after,’ she said.

‘There are many children who are put into orphanages.’

In signing over parental rights to Madonna her father does not expect to see them ever again.

While his other daughters never met their sisters they are hopeful that they will grow up fulfilled.

'They will always be our sisters but they have a new life,' said Alinefe.