Maintaining visibility and boldly moving forward: Manja Gideon, Founder
© Photography: Pierre Vicarini
The founder
Manja Beatrice Gideon experienced the symptoms of ovarian cancer beginning in 2010, but the disease was not diagnosed until 2012. She endured two courses of chemotherapy, an operation, swallowed tablets and hoped for a cure. And yet, she died in a hospital bed on October 4th, 2014, surrounded by her loving family. She was only 59 years old.
Her last great idea was the Manja Gideon Foundation. She wanted to dedicate herself to a charitable cause and shed light on this difficult-to-diagnose disease, identify treatment options and highlight the prospects of a cure. Other women should have the opportunity to leave behind more lingering traces of their lives.
“Manja’s traces should remain visible—it’s through them that we remember and understand what makes life rich.”
-- Erika Gideon, President, Foundation Board
Her life, briefly
Manja Gideon, born in Bülach, ZH, moved to Geneva with her second husband in the mid-‘80s, where she lived for the rest of her life. She engaged herself with the utmost dedication to being a mother and role model to her two sons, Simon and Raphael. Manja loved life, and lived for charity towards others: hosting lunches and dinners in her house to raise money for cultural projects; welcoming friends, young musicians of the Geneva Camerata, and disabled veterans in support of the Nechet Zahal holiday program; as a volunteer with the Musée d’art moderne et contemporain (Mamco); as a member of Chevra Kadisha within the Jewish community in Geneva; and being involved with the Bureau d’Adoption de Genève (BGA) for almost 20 years. Time and again she gave private tours of her home, which she had styled to perfection. She showed her art and design collection, which she had acquired over a period of many years, to those interested in art and architecture. With her public and private attainments, Manja Gideon left behind an inspiring legacy.
The letters “MFC” symbolize a chapter in her life: “Manja Fights Cancer”. In mutual support of each other, we shared love, worry, thoughts—and hoped for a happy ending.