Jojo is a schoolgirl who plays basketball, loves her dogs, and reads about four books a week.
She was just eight years old when one of Burnet’s senior researchers, Dr Linda Reiling, paid a visit to her school. Linda was there to talk about malaria, and her team’s efforts to help eliminate the disease by 2030. As a budding scientist, young Jojo was fascinated.
“I wanted to help people: I don’t think people really understand how much malaria affects people, particularly in poorer countries. I think it’s something that should be solved, and I would like to help the children so they can have a good life, like me,” said Jojo.
With the help of her mum Sam, she enrolled in an extra-curricular workshop to learn more about blood science. She also started saving her pocket money so she could make a donation to the work being done by Burnet researchers.
Now 12 years old, Jojo visited Burnet in April to make her donation – the product of three solid years of saving – in person and meet some of the team and was treated to a tour of the labs with Linda. “It made me excited, curious and very happy,” Jojo says, adding that she’s now definitely thinking about becoming a medical researcher. Or a surgeon. Or a librarian. Or a dog walker.
Thanks so much for supporting our work, Jojo.
