Esmeraldo SilvaEsmeraldo Gracioso Silva was born and raised in the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony located on the west coast of Africa. He is the father of four and an Optical Technician at FLIR Systems since January 2012. He is the founder an president of the nonprofit, Professor Joaquim Silva Foundation.Esmeraldo left his hometown of Mansoa in the middle of civil war, fleeing on a bicycle to the border with neighboring Senegal. There he sold the bicycle to buy a plane ticket to neighboring Cape Verde, another former Portuguese colony. While in Cape Verde, he befriended an American woman working in the Peace Corps who was involved in children's education. After working together for a year, she and her husband decided and supported Esmeraldo to come to Florida for medical attention at the Center for Sight in Sarasota, Florida, where he lived for several years. In 2009, he moved to Portland, Oregon, where he currently resides with his four children. Read More Read Less