Marie da Silva
Malawian AIDS activist
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Marie da Silva is a Malawian AIDS activist and founder of the Jacaranda Foundation from Chembomba, Malawi.[1]
History
Da Silva was born in Malawi but lost 15 of her relatives including two brothers and her father to AIDS.[2] She moved to the United States in order to work as a nanny in Los Angeles, California for actress Ricki Lake.[3][4][5] In 2002, she learned that her school in Chembomba was about to close.[1] 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.[4][6] When her mother died, she approached French businessman Luc Deschamps for help running the school, which he assisted by becoming the director.[1]
The Jacaranda School eventually grew to over 400 students specializing in arts where she also teaches.[7] In 2008, da Silva was recognized by American broadcaster CNN as one of their 2008 CNN Heroes for her work in Malawian education.[4]