Jacaranda UK Foundation

Working at the Jacaranda School made me realise how much can be achieved by a dedicated team, and how important education is in the process of rescuing children who have been abandoned, by giving them the skills to make their own way in the world.

I started the Jacaranda UK Foundation so that we in the UK can help.

Our Founder

Anna Bianco

Trustee

Claire Darroch-Thompson
Trustee

Having previously spent 9 months working in Kenya, Duncan volunteered at the Jacaranda School for Orphans for the summer of 2014, and decided on his return to the UK to start Jacaranda UK Foundation to help secure the school's financial future. He works to help improve access to healthcare in low- and middle-income countries.

Claire has spent many a day raising money for UK charities - be it the NSPCC, Macmillian or Cancer Research UK, experience we draw on frequently. During the day she works for an auction house, and her skills keep us very much on the straight and narrow.

2002- Marie da Silva founds the Jacaranda School for Orphans in her family home in Malawi.

2013- The school reaches 400 students, providing them with entirely free primary, secondary and tertiary education, as well medical care and other support.

2014 - Duncan spends three months volunteering at the school, and resolves to help them grow.

2015 - Jacaranda UK Foundation is established as a UK Charity and begins to raise money. Its main aims are in line with those of the Jacaranda School:
Building Schools - Providing Education -

Preventing AIDS in Malawi

Daisy lived in Malawi for three years teaching History and English Literature at Jacaranda School. She has seen first-hand how crucial donations are for changing the students’ lives and is determined to continue to raise money for the school. She is the GM of Rare Charity.

Duncan Darroch-Thompson

Daisy Belfield-Santos

Trustee

Richard has visited Malawi and the Jacaranda School several times; he helped the school link up with Microsoft to kit out the computer room. He has also helped raise money for The Against Malaria Foundation, which installed over 7,000 mosquito nets in Malawi.

Who we are

The people who make Jacaranda UK tick

Richard Hughes
Trustee

OUR History

As a former professional fundraiser for the largest UK charity providing grants for families raising disabled or seriously ill children, Anna is something of a trust and foundations expert, so is helping us expand our grant applications. Previously Anna worked as a curator.

our team

Matthew has worked in banking, business consulting and renewable energy, and now does a lot of work promoting small businesses in the UK.
His knowledge of how organisations like ours run is invaluable to our success, as is his tech savvy and financial nous.

Matthew Darroch-Thompson
Trustee, Treasurer