The strength of Grace was how to define the challenges, bring everyone on board to come up with solutions and to remain committed. “She was very critical and realistic, as well as supportive to others, skills which were imperative for the creation of the Codigo. But she was also very personable and was able to open up about her own pain with me. We would meet for coffee and just converse and cry together. She was very open about her past and its impact on her life. Yet at the same time, she turned that experience into a positive energy to become part of a structural change to help the community,” Ras says. “Grace was determined that no child would live through her experience. As a US licensed coach, she wanted to continue on as a supervisor of the Codigo, to make sure the system remains sustainable and strong.”

It was not to be, but the legacy of Grace Maduro as a fervent advocate for children lives on every time the Codigo is applied to provide Aruban children with the platform to grow into healthy and happy adults.

“I knew Grace as a professional and her passion for scouting. I had never worked with her before, but her ample experience, knowledge and expertise to execute projects at a national level for the benefit of children was well-known.” That is the reason why Sue-Ann Ras had no doubts about including Grace Maduro in the team. “We were still finding our way, but she knew so much about the topic, and how to execute a new program for which there was no script. It was more based on action learning. We connected immediately, as we both understood the urgency to create a durable system to guarantee the wellbeing, protection and safety of our children.”

Grace kept this experience a secret and focused on school. She finished high school and went back to the Netherlands to study. After working in human resources for the GGD in Den Bosch upon completion of her studies, she returned to her native island. She wanted to help Aruba prepare for the major constitutional change, from part of the Netherlands Antilles to an autonomous country. She was part of the Project Bureau Status Aparte, with the task to work as HR-adviser within the government. “She organised courses for the new department heads. She was young, but she was there,” her brother Hubert says proudly. Her career path then took her to the Aruba hospital where she headed the human resources personnel and staff department. Grace left her position on a high note and took responsibility for the family business, Fantastic Gardens, keeping guard for her two children who now run the company. It was during that period she was also approached by KPMG to work on the creation of Curaçao as an autonomous country within the Kingdom. Her expertise as a HR-specialist was well appreciated and she became the Aruba appointee and vice-chairman of the board of the Common Court of Justice of Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Aruba, a position she kept until a few months before her passing.

Grace Maduro was born in 1960 and raised in San Nicolas, Aruba. Her father, Leoncio, was a well-respected member of the Police Corps and her mother, Sylvia, dedicated her life to raising her eleven children. The family was hit by tragedy when Grace was only five. Her father passed away. That loss had a major impact on the family, especially on the younger children. Mom Sylvia decided to move to the Netherlands a few years later, where some of her older children were already studying. It opened up opportunities for Grace, who loved her years in Tilburg. She felt at home, loved her school, her teachers, her schoolmates. Grace thrived in Tilburg where she was exposed to art and music classes. “I was happy in Tilburg,” she told her friends many times. But circumstances meant that the family had to return and Grace, determined to continue with music classes but knowing money was tight, decided to take on chores at the neighbours. The teen worked so she could pay for her own music classes, and it was during one of these days working, that she was accosted and assaulted. A devastating experience that left a mark for the rest of her life.

The Codigo di Proteccion was just one of the endeavours Grace took on to improve the perspective and wellbeing of Aruban children. She was also the first chairperson of the Leerorkest Aruba (the Education orchestra), a foundation that was established in 2019 to help contribute to happy and well-rounded children through music. And she did all this while battling a deadly disease. “I asked her why she took on all that responsibility, despite being so sick,” her older brother Hubert Maduro remembered. “Then again, if we don’t have professionals who volunteer, we can never achieve a healthy society.” And that was Grace’s goal and mission in life. A life that was marked by joy, but also major impactful experiences.

Grace Maduro passed away in August 2021, only a few months after the Codigo di Proteccion was completed. She was the Public Health sector project leader for the Codigo. “Her passing was a big loss for the team. She was a fantastic person, who was always dedicated and motivated to work for the wellbeing and protection of children and youngsters in Aruba,” is the statement of Sue-Ann, Policy Advisor of the Ministry of Justice & Social Affairs, responsible for the Codigo di Proteccion. “Each one of us is left with a beautiful memory, and we are inspired to continue with the work that Grace was a big part of, a leader, who definitely took on the role of the engine that pulled the work.”

She was a children’s advocate extraordinaire, and the Codigo di Proteccion was a crowning achievement in a body of work dedicated to knowledge, understanding and care. This is the legacy of Grace Maduro, a community builder and child protector.

A child advocate extraordinaire: Grace Maduro

But her passion was definitely the wellbeing of children. She headed Insight, the organisation for personal development in Aruba and was also active with girls’ scouts, focusing her effort on teaching young girls to become resilient and to care for each other. But she also started dealing with her own emotions, bottled up since a teen. This was the time she sought professional help and took on painting as a way to express her emotions. Despite her disease, Grace’s focus to create a safer place for children pushed her take on two new and significant challenges: the Codigo di Proteccion and Leerorkest Aruba. Sue-Ann Ras asked her to help out with the creation of the protection codes and Grace did not hesitate for a second to lend a hand. The Minister of Education at that time, Dr. Rudy Lampe, also requested Grace be part of a small workgroup to set up the Leerorkest Foundation. The workgroup succeeded in setting up the foundation with Grace as the first chairperson and today it provides instrument classes to over 400 children in five schools and general music education to all children in Aruba. A lasting legacy.