Meet Lerato and Nyiko
At 24 years of age Lerato is already the mother of three young children, ages six, two and a half, and nine months. The smile on her face masks a story of pain and hardship; thanks to the Gift of Hope sponsorship, Lerato is now able to look toward the future with hope for herself and her children.
Lerato’s story mirrors that of so many women infected with HIV and living in poverty, and speaks to the importance of remaining in care and on treatment. As a young woman, Lerato lost her mother to AIDS, joining the ranks of millions of South Africa’s AIDS orphans. Today, a single parent of three with no reliable source of income, Lerato shares a modest home with her sister, brother-in-law and four young children in Diepsloot — one of the most impoverished townships in South Africa. Her sister’s only income is from occasional jobs as a domestic worker, and Lerato herself relies on a monthly childcare grant of 240 rand, or approximately $18. This income is often insufficient to meet Lerato and her family’s most basic needs, including the fundamental need to put food on the table. She struggles monthly to afford the cost of transportation to the clinic and the recently increased patient fees for herself and her son Nyiko, who is also HIV positive.
After her own difficult battle with HIV, Lerato understands the importance of adhering to HIV medication. She was diagnosed with HIV in 2014 and initiated onto treatment. But grieving her mother’s death, struggling to accept her own status, and fearful of disclosing to her boyfriend, Lerato soon dropped out of care and defaulted on her treatment.
During her absence from care, she gave birth to Nyiko, her second child, who was thankfully born HIV negative. However, as the months passed, Lerato and Nyiko became critically ill and returned to Witkoppen, where Nyiko tested positive for HIV. At 8 months of age she learned Nyiko had become infected through breast –feeding, a result of a high viral load from Lerato’s poor adherence to her ARVs. Lerato painfully recalls how she felt when she learned her son was positive. “I could not stop crying. I put all of the blame on myself.”
At this visit Lerato was in bad shape; she had to be hospitalized for two weeks with tuberculosis and kidney infections and subsequently lost her job. Nyiko’s health was also unstable. Thankfully the two began regular monthly visits with Dr. Holly France, Witkoppen’s dedicated pediatric HIV specialist. Holly describes her first visit with them. “When Lerato first came to me with Nyiko she was depressed, miserable, she had no money and she was really struggling.” Many mornings Nyiko simply had no food for breakfast, making it difficult to swallow his medication and keep it down, further complicating his recovery.
But today, thanks to a dedicated team of practitioners, the care and support provided through A FRESH Start and Lerato’s commitment to her health, both Lerato and Nyiko are doing well. What’s more, they have welcomed a new, healthy baby brother into their family and are forever grateful to Witkoppen and the support of American donors for making this possible and giving them hope.
Lerato’s story illustrates the value of comprehensive, holistic care that Witkoppen provides. Without the Mother/Child Sponsorship, Lerato would be unable to afford the patient fees for these services. When asked what this support means to them, Lerato smiles broadly and says, “When I first heard of the fee increase the first thing that came to mind was that Nyiko and I would have to leave. Now we come to the clinic with stress but we go home happy. Thank you so much and please do not stop at me — there are many others in my position who need help”
Please Sponsor A Mother & Child today and you too can be a hero to someone in need!