Jacaranda Foundation INC

What is so special about the Jacaranda School for Orphans? 

The Jacaranda School for Orphans was founded by Marie Da Silva in 2001. The school is named after the jacaranda tree, a tree that blossomed outside the hospital window of Marie’s father who died of AIDS in 1997. To Marie, the jacaranda tree symbolizes life, growth and hope, important symbols for her students for whom she aims to provide a future.

The Jacaranda School for Orphans educates and cares for the most vulnerable children in Malawi, children who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. In addition to free primary and secondary education (elementary school through high school), the Jacaranda School provides their students with:
• Nutritious meals every day to ensure students stay healthy and can focus on school
• Medical care with an on-site nurse and school clinic
• AIDS awareness activities to help students make safe decisions
• Music, arts and sports enrichment programs
• University scholarships to selected high school graduates

In addition to school initiatives, the Jacaranda Foundation supports students’ families and the nearby community by: creating library and literacy programs; constructing students' houses and providing financial support to needy families; and developing a small microfinance program.

The money you raise will enable the Jacaranda Foundation to continue this important work.

Hello Friends,

 We are graduates from Jacaranda School for Orphans in Malawi.
We are so happy to announce that we have been accepted to the Watson Institute Accelerator Social Entrepreneurship program from January to May 2020 in Boulder, Colorado, USA. In addition, we have been awarded a 75% scholarship to attend the school. It’s an amazing opportunity for us to learn a lot with top lecturers and with fellow youth from around the world. Then we will come back to Malawi and implement a social entrepreneurship program for our fellow youth in our community.

Today, we need your help to raise the 25% tuition and accommodation fees remaining: a total of $10,000.00US for the two of us.

 We are passionate about developing our communities in Malawi, especially the youth. Many young people in Malawi don’t have the chance to finish high school or go to college. This is why we would like to develop a youth empowerment center, where we will teach IT, art, entrepreneurship and life skills. We know exactly what it’s like to grow up in this community and we know how much the young people struggle.  We feel that we can help the youth gain self-confidence, develop skills and become entrepreneurs.

Many of the young people in our community end up indulging themselves in drug and substance abuse, prostitution resulting into teenage pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. These problems are common in lots of Malawian communities and results in stagnant development of Malawi as a country.

 As some of you know, we love to teach hip-hop dance and art to our friends at Jacaranda School. As you can see on the list on the right, we will be offering you original cards, charcoal drawings and paintings. We will even be updating you from Watson Institute in Colorado to let you know about our progress!

 By helping us go to Watson Institute, you are helping us come back to Malawi with the skills we need to motivate and train our fellow youth.

 Thank you for all your help.

* For each donation from $100 to $199, we will draw a card and send it to you: 


* For each donation from $200 to $299, we will send you an original charcoal drawing such as: 



For each donation from $300 to $499, we will send you an original painting such as: 



And for donations from $500 to $999, we will send you an original painting with theme of your choice, such as: 


And for donations from $1,000 and above, we will send you an original painting with theme of your choice - and we will do a video call with you from Watson Institute during our training - to let you know our progress!