The Birth of Charmaine and the Gift of Hope
South Africa is truly a stunning country, but it is the people and their incredible resiliency and spirit, in the face of extreme hardship, that motivated me to start a non-profit to support women and children affected by HIV. In 2006 I spent a summer with my daughter, Jamie, volunteering at McCord Hospital in Durban, South Africa. Durban sits at the global epicenter of the HIV epidemic, and McCord Hospital was one of the early pioneers in HIV care and treatment in South Africa. It was here that I came to appreciate that we all have the power to make a difference in the life of someone in need and give them the invaluable gift of hope. I’d like to share a story of that life-changing summer that explains why I started the Gift of Hope and remain so committed to, and passionate about, its mission.
I was working in the mother to child transmission program when a woman named Constance came into the ER in full-term labor. She was HIV positive, not on any treatment, and her viral load—a measure of how infectious one is—was astronomically high, putting her unborn baby at serious risk of acquiring HIV at birth. Constance needed a cesarean section to reduce that risk, but couldn’t afford the additional $450 dollars to have the procedure. The doctor was devastated, knowing full well what a normal delivery might portend, and shared her concerns with me. Unbeknownst to her, Jamie had raised funds at home to benefit McCord, and so the very first dollars were used to fund her c-section.
Constance was alone and asked if I could be her birth partner. Two hours later I was dressed in surgical scrubs, holding Constance’s hand, as her daughter Charmaine came into this world. A few weeks later when I got the call that Charmaine was born HIV negative, I knew I had found my purpose.
Lauren holding baby Charmaine shortly after her birth
Today, Charmaie is a healthy teenager who is HIV negative, and that was undoubtedly the best $450 ever spent. Tragically, Constance lost her battle to AIDS before Charmaine reached her second birthday, and like so many AIDS orphans, is being raised by her grandmother Betty. Now in her 70s, Betty lost all four of her children to AIDS and is raising eight grandchildren on her own.
It is for women like Betty, who mourns the loss of her children and is devoting her senior years as a caregiver…and moms like Constance, who started treatment too late and lost her fight to AIDS—and children like Charmaine, who was given a chance and now has a healthy future ahead, that I do this work.
I invite you to join me on this journey of giving hope and making a difference in lives of those in need….one woman and child at a time.