Nominee for 2008 CNN Hero awards

http://www.instablogs.com/
Nominee for 2008 CNN Hero awards

It is wonderful to see a Malawian woman to be nominated by CNN for her valuable work in solely funding a school (at Chigumula) called Jacaranda Foundation in order to help fight the impact of AIDs, a disease that has killed 14 of her family members, including her father and two brothers. The name for her school and its foundation support comes from the Jacaranda tree, which symbolizes hope. Thanks to Da Silva's passion, the school is now thriving in her childhood home of Chigumula and more than 200 children, most of whom are AIDS orphans, receive porridge every morning and education, free of charge. Orphans [in Malawi] are deeply underprivileged, their grandparents try to raise them, with no money, no food, no clothes amidst grueling poverty. Da Silva funds almost entire initiative by herself, sending US$1,000, about one-third of her monthly paycheck, to pay the salaries of 12 teachers and the headmaster, and purchase whatever supplies she can afford. According to UNAIDS, 14 percent of Malawi's adult population is infected with HIV and more than half a million children have been orphaned by the disease.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Global
• Report
• Women
• in
• Malawi
• Jacaranda
• Foundation
• AIDS
• orphans
• Mari
• de
• Silva
• UNAIDS
• Instablogs