Hope For Mary Foundation/Testing Center for Young Women and Treatment Center for Children with HIV/AIDS in Rural Kenya Mary Nduta was born with HIV/AIDS. Mary's grandmother was proud to have a grand-daughter named after her but every time she visited Mary in rural Kenya, she noticed she was not growing up as a normal child would. She was under weight even though she was on a proper diet and she always seemed to have some minor cold or illness. So she decided to bring Mary and her mother to Nairobi, the capital City of Kenya to get medical help. The family discovered that Mary had full blown HIV/AIDS and so did her mother and father. The doctors started treatment on the entire family, a costly undertaking for a low income family from rural Kenya. Many who live in Rural Kenya live on as little as a few dollars a day.
In January of 2007, Mary's condition worsened and she was admitted to the hospital. It was in the hospital where I met Mary and her mother. Mary's blood lacked platelets, despite multiple blood transfusions. The blood was essentially running right through her. It was so bad that every time I visited Mary, her diaper would be filled with blood instead of urine. And every day I was looking forward to changing it hoping for a change. She would ask me to blow on her feet, meaning they were burning. And even with all the pain, she was such a brave little girl, she had a smile on her face when i would walk in through the door. Still, When I left Kenya I had so much hope for Mary.
I wanted to go back and visit her outside of the hospital.
I wanted Mary to live the life she had watched other children live from the confinement of her hospital bed.
It was February 14th when I got the call that Mary had died.
I didn't expect Mary to live forever, but I hoped she would live to see a better day. At the hospital, Mary's Mother said if she had known she had HIV/AIDS she would never have gotten pregnant.
Her little girl did not deserve to suffer like that. The hope I once had for Mary did not die with her that day. The hope I had for Mary still lives on through other children in rural Kenya and the other young women who hope to have children.
Mary's suffering continues in the hundreds of thousands of children affected by this horrible disease. I am working on getting some volunteers together who would travel with me to rural Kenya once a year. It all starts somewhere. We can offer testing or simply offer hugs. I was born and raised in Kenya but I now live in Alabama. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
I know the thought counts...So go ahead and allow yourself to think about it.
Send a message if you would like to be a part of the foundation.
