| Marie da Silva | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Malawian |
| Occupation | nanny |
| Known for | AIDS activist |
Marie da Silva is a Malawian AIDS activist and founder of the Jacaranda Foundation from Chembomba, Malawi.
History
Da Silva was born in Malawi but lost 15 of her relatives including two brothers and her father to AIDS. She moved to the United States in order to work as a nanny in Los Angeles, California for actress Ricki Lake. In 2002, she learned that her school in Chembomba was about to close. She asked her mother to temporarily host classes in their family home so that the children could receive an education. She started funding the school with a third of her nanny pay and set up the Jacaranda Foundation to give free schooling to AIDS orphans in Malawi. When her mother died, she approached French businessman Luc Deschamps for help running the school, which he assisted by becoming the director.
The Jacaranda School eventually grew to over 400 students specializing in arts where she also teaches. In 2008, da Silva was recognized by American broadcaster CNN as one of their 2008 CNN Heroes for her work in Malawian education.
References
- ^ Nation Online (2012-10-28). "Marie Da Silva". The Nation. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
- Mark McGivern (2015-05-21). "Taste of Hope: Scots charity Mary's Meals help Malawian children diagnosed with HIV.. and those grieving because of it". Daily Record. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
- "Malawi's Jacaranda School for Orphans Celebrates Christmas". Voanews.com. 2014-12-27. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
- ^ "CNN Heroes: Giving hope to orphans of AIDS". CNN. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
- "Ricki Lake proud of former nanny turned CNN Hero". CNN. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
- Nation Online (2012-10-23). "On promises, the great women of Malawi". The Nation. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
- "Madonna motivated us— Marie Da Silva". The Times of Malawi. 2017-07-21. Retrieved 2017-11-21.