Raising Funds for the Work of Humanitarian Oliva Giles of Scotland
Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Necton D. Mhura of Malawi and H. E. Ambassador David Newman of Botswana
Video conversation about Olivia Giles with Alexander McCall Smith
Time: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Price: $50.00 with hors d’oeuvres and cash bar
Reception /Fundraiser Educational Foundation
To register, visit democraticwoman.org/events/upcoming
Olivia Giles was working as a lawyer in 2002 when she contracted meningitis and had to have her hands and feet amputated to save her life. In 2007, she founded the charity 500 Miles, which supplies prosthetic limbs to Malawi and Zambia, and other developing countries. She was awarded an Order of the British Empire in 2010 for her work and in January 2015 was named a winner of the Robert Burns Humanitarian Award. Olivia has received many awards for her service to others. She received an honorary doctorate in 2007. She has also campaigned to raise awareness of meningitis around the world.
“I’ve been incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to help so many people and hope that my own experiences will inspire people as much as I’ve strived to help people walk again,” she has said.
Author Alexander McCall Smith commissioned a painting to honor her in Scotland. “In commissioning this painting, I wanted to do something that would celebrate Olivia’s character, her achievements, and her tremendous contribution to charity. I hope this will encourage people to realize what one might do in this life, whatever difficulties one might encounter.”