Hungarians helped orphan children in Malawi

There’s close cooperation between the African-Hungarian Union (AHU) and the Jacaranda Foundation, which operates a school near Malawi’s most populated city that is maintained for orphan children. Hungarian doctors have recently visited the school, and besides giving out medication they also examined hundreds of children in the institution, reports globoport.hu.

„We have approximately 400 students now” – Luc Deschamps, Executive Director of the Jacaranda Foundation told Róbert Richárd Kiss. The school is among the few in Malawi and in Africa which provides free and quality education for underprivileged children. The Director and Kiss talked about the school, its mission, about the African-Hungarian Union, and the Hungarian Trade and Cultural Center (HTCC) that operates in Malawi.

The institution is run by the Jacaranda Foundation and provides primary-and secondary education for children between the ages of 6 and 18; it also supports those who wish to have a higher education after they finished high school. The foundation supports twenty such students now and covers the cost of their university education – said Luc Deschamps

The school provides food, clothing, text books, and other accessories necessary for the children, and educates them on AIDS and other contagious diseases. They also organize music and sport programs for the children. Students have the opportunity to pursue agricultural training, or to learn a profession, such as joinery, bricklaying, carpentry, hairdressing, or tailoring. The institution also prepares students how to use a computer and the internet, and provides access to learning materials online.

The school was founded by Marie Da Silva in 2002, who is also the President of Jacaranda Foundation. Da Silva worked as a nanny in the United States for 19 years. She returned to Malawi when her father died of AIDS and founded the Jacaranda School for Orphans within her family house. Da Silva turned the bedrooms, the living room, the pantry, even the garage, into classrooms. For nine years, she spent a third of the monthly income she earned working as a nanny on the salaries of the teachers and the few school supplies she could afford. In October 2008, Da Silva was recognized as a Top Ten CNN Hero for her dedication to orphans in Malawi. Da Silva currently shares her time between traveling the world for fundraising, and giving speeches at schools and universities.