Sherrie Silver is on a global mission to end malaria
Losing her cousin to malaria as a child gave Sherrie the determination to help end malaria in a generation.
Growing up in Rwanda, award-winning choreographer and philanthropist Sherrie Silver knows the devastating impact of malaria all too well.
When Sherrie was just nine years old, her cousin died from the disease. It was a life changing moment, and Sherrie knew then that she couldn’t just stand by and let malaria continue to devastate families like her own, cutting lives short for millions of children.
Right now, malaria is killing a child every minute.
“Since the age of nine, I’ve been on a global mission to end malaria when I lost my nine year old cousin to malaria. He died within the space of 2 days from contracting the disease. That I wanted to make sure other children didn’t have to suffer from malaria and die from it.”
Sherrie wanted to be part of the generation that would rise up against this unfair, destructive disease - a disease that hits vulnerable people, children and pregnant women the hardest.
“I think that malaria is just not something that people should have to die from in this day and age. So if I can be part of a campaign that prevents it, I’m here.”
Sherrie recently visited Mozambique and met a family who had just lost a child to malaria. It brought back the trauma that her family experienced in her childhood, and the encounter has made Sherrie all the more determined to stand up for younger generations.
"I think that malaria is just not something that people should have to die from in this day and age. So if I can be part of a campaign that prevents it, I’m here."
“I went to Mozambique last year and I came across a family who had just lost their baby from malaria, and I just saw how broken the family was and it was just devastating. This campaign is a chance for us to really change things – we owe it to our future generations to end malaria in our lifetime.”
For years malaria has prevented children from going to school or forced their parents to miss days from work. Together, we can make sure no child is left behind, and we can build a better future for Africa.
“In Africa, malaria is something we deal with all the time and that shouldn’t be the case. A world with no malaria for me would just be the most incredible thing. It’s one less disease to fight.... It would mean a lot fewer families would be in pain, and a lot more families would be whole. When world leaders meet in my home country Rwanda in June, we will be urging them to take bold, positive action to reach Zero Malaria.”
Show the world that together we are too strong to be beaten by malaria. Join Sherrie and Draw The Line Against Malaria.
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