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Born and raised in Malawi, Marie Da Silva worked as a nanny in the U.S. for nineteen years. During this time she lost many members of her family to the AIDS pandemic. In 2002 after realizing the school in her home village in Malawi was going to close and seeing firsthand the devastation AIDS had wrought in her home village, she founded the Jacaranda School for Orphans in her childhood home. For the next nine years, Marie supported the school financially by sending a third of her monthly salary to Malawi.
In 2008 Marie was recognized as Top Ten CNN Hero for her dedication to orphans in Malawi. Among many other awards received for her work, Marie also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the President of Malawi.
Today Marie spends most of her time in Malawi at the school and frequently travels abroad for fundraising and speaking engagements. Marie is married to Jacaranda’s Executive Director, Luc Deschamps.
Luc Deschamps was born and raised in France, where he graduated from CELSA Paris Sorbonne with a Masters Degree in Communication and Journalism. Luc lives in Malawi and since July 2007, he has been spearheading the growth of Jacaranda School for Orphans and the development of Jacaranda’s outreach programs, which include the construction of a community physiotherapy clinic - a program of home support and children homes construction - the creation of libraries for public primary schools and community centres - the construction of a vocational school and a preschool - the development of the Jacaranda college scholarships program - and the founding of Jacaranda Cultural Center in Blantyre. Luc leads the 120+ employees of Jacaranda Foundation.
Luc is also Honorary Consul of France in Malawi and organizes French linguistic and cultural cooperation activities in the country.