Brazilian humanitarian worker killed in the Haiti quake. She was 75.

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Zilda Arns Neumann (August 25, 1934 — January 12, 2010) was a Brazilian pediatrician and health worker. She was revered for her humanitarian work, which spawned three decades. The sister of Paulo Evaristo Arns and aunt of Flávio Arns, Zilda Arns coordinated assistance for destitute children, the poor, and the elderly, in Brazil and abroad. She was a victim of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Biography

Born in Forquilhinha, she was a sister of Paulo Evaristo Cardinal Arns and founder and international coordinator of the Pastoral da Criança. She also coordinated the Pastoral da Pessoa Idosa, and social action organisms of the Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil.

Widowed since 1978, a mother of five and grandmother of nine, she was awarded with several honorary citizen titles throughout Brazil. In 2006, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize due to her work.

Holder of a degree in Medicine, Arns further studied public health, with the aim of assisting poor children in environments plagued with high child mortality rates, malnutrition and violence. Her approach was based on familial education in order to help decrease the rates of petty crime and preventable diseases.

Death

Zilda Arns was killed by the Haiti earthquake of 12 January 2010 in Port-au-Prince, where she was carrying humanitarian activities.

:cry: :cry:

Maybe to be easily identified as the Arcbishop's sister. Or, maybe, she got widely recognized before she got married, I don't know.

:(

The world will certainly miss her!

:thumbsup: