Love for Development

A message from friends on her passing: Our dear friend Carolina Ödman passed away in the early hours of 15 November in a hospital in Cape Town. She fought against cancer with her usual courage, optimism, and a smile, till the very end. She was many things to each of us. She was a partner and a mother to Kevin, Xavier and Cyprian. A beloved family member. A dear friend and colleague. A mentor and an inspiration. A ray of sunshine in all our lives.

Carolina was truly a renaissance person who was immensely talented at so many things: painting, writing, photography, playing the harp, dancing, consummate skill in languages, public speaking, and dreaming up ideas on a scale that only she could. She was equally at ease in the worlds of science, art, and the humanities.

Most of us are familiar with some facet of Carolina’s talents, but all of us have experienced her warmth, her kindness, and her extremely contagious joy for life, of sunsets, of the trees and forests, of birds and animals, of science and technology. It was her fervent desire, which she emphasised during her last days, that her sons Xavier and Cyprian continue to be aware of this as well. To honour her wish, we invite you to record your memories and experiences of her in any form that you are comfortable with, addressed to her children. This could be in the form of a short video of you talking, a piece of writing, a set of photographs, etc. Please send your contributions to celebrate.carolina@gmail.com.