When Andre D’Souza’s mother, Promila D’Souza, passed away in February, his family wanted to honor her memory.

Promila had been involved with Children’s Miracle Network since the 1990s. So Andre, a senior biology major, suggested that guests at her funeral donate to Race For Every Child, a 5K that supports Children’s National, a member of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

As opposed to flowers, “[t]his lives on and it benefits other people, especially children, and my mother would have wanted that,” said Andre’s brother, Felix D’Souza, who works in communications for J.P. Morgan.

On Saturday, Andre ran the race at the Freedom Plaza in Washington for the first time in Promila’s honor, instead of just volunteering like he had in the past.

“When we lose people in our lives, we come to a new normal, and we may have some [new] traditions,” said Andre’s dad, John D’Souza. “This seems to be a very nice one, [and] … we can do good things as well as remember my wife.”


Team Promila was comprised of more than 10 members of Andre’s friends and family who traveled to participate from all over the country. Members wore matching shirts featuring an artistic rendering of a photo of Promila that Andre took as she finished the 2014 race — her last one. Her hands are up as she crosses the finish line, and the timer in the photo is at 1:21:53.

“She stopped at every single stop, took pictures with everyone and she just had a blast,” Andre said.

Promila walked with a limp due to a shattered femur from a 2007 car accident, “but she kept on going and that’s why I was … very proud that she was able to do this,” Andre said.

Felix came in from New York for the race and joined in for the first time this year.

“[The race is] all she talked about,” Felix said. “She constantly would call me and text me and say, ‘Can you post this on Facebook? Can you text all your friends to donate?'”

Promila brought a lot of attention to the race, Andre said, and gained support for it from local businesses. She also worked with Walmart, a partner of Children’s National, by holding barbecues and a craft fair outside in the store’s parking lot. Vendors would come to these events, and all proceeds would be donated to the organization.

“I just liked how creative she was, and she had a lot of energy and passion for this,” Andre said.

Through all of Promila’s work, she also became close with many staff members at the foundation and will be greatly missed, said Ashley Husich, the directorcq of Race For Every Child.

Andre raised $2,300, surpassing his original goal of $2,000, which he said he chose arbitrarily. He started fundraising in March when the race first opened, and he was one of the first people who signed up.

John said the two days leading up the race were emotional for him, but he woke up on Saturday feeling “exuberant.”

“I can’t just sit by and do nothing,” he said. “[I need to] do something positive, something encouraging. Uplift other people, in other words.”

Reporter Julia Reed contributed to this report.