by lwang | Jul 13, 2012 | Education, Female Empowerment, Health, m2m
The Global Post’s Tracy Jarrett recently went on a journey to learn about human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the disease that took her mother’s life. She traveled to Cape Town, South Africa and met Maletsatsi Mbayi, a mentor mother at mothers2mothers. Mbayi discussed her duties at the organization, but also shared her story and how m2m changed her life. After learning that she was HIV positive and pregnant, Mbayi said she contemplated committing suicide. However, Mbayi eventually began treatment and told her friends about her disease. She joined a support group at church where she was recruited to be part of the m2m program as an example of someone who had the courage to speak out about her status. Jarrett noted how m2m had changed Mbayi: “It is clear that working for mothers2mothers has empowered Mbayi, who now stands strong and confident, and is noticeably pained when she remembers her darkest hours, when she thought that taking her own life was the only way forward. Her knowledge and her dedication to helping other HIV positive women signify how far she has come.” While listening to Mbayi’s stories, Jarrett thought of her mother. “If my mother had lived, would she also have helped support other HIV-positive mothers? Would she have needed a job like that to help her cope?” she wrote. “As I left I gave Mbayi a hug, squeezing her as if she were my own mother. When I got back to my apartment near the city center, tears swelled in my eyes.” Yet another example of how Kravis Prize winners are changing lives all around the world! “A Daughter’s...
by lwang | May 10, 2012 | Female Empowerment, Health, m2m
Here at the Kravis Prize, we’re proud to say that our winners effect change and actively contribute to solving the leading issues in today’s society. Case in point: Today, mothers2mothers, along with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Representatives Trent Franks, R-Ariz., Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and James McDermott, D-Wash., are announcing a new bipartisan House resolution: “Recognizing the Potential for the Virtual Elimination of Pediatric HIV and AIDS and Keeping HIV Positive Mothers Alive.” Even greater news, you can get involved! Take the step towards eliminating pediatric AIDS by 2015 and saving mothers in honor of Mother’s Day! Find out more here and take action to support the...
by lwang | Apr 13, 2012 | Community Development, Education, Female Empowerment, Health, Kravis Prize, m2m
As one of the Mentor Mothers at mothers2mothers (m2m), our 2012 Kravis Prize awardee, Nozi Samela has an amazing story to share. As she recently blogged for One.org, Nozi described the transforming power of mothers like her who are living with HIV and are providing education and support to HIV-positive pregnant women and new mothers across sub-Saharan Africa through their work at m2m. “Before I came to work for mothers2mothers, I was a client of the program at a clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. When I learned that I was both pregnant and HIV-positive, just sharing my story with a Mentor Mother helped to lift some of the despair and loneliness I felt. When I joined a mothers2mothers support group and learned how to keep my baby free from HIV, I decided that my story was something that I would determine on my own. And when I gave birth to a healthy baby boy, I learned how important my story had become to women who, like me, were looking for a source of hope where there seemed to be none.” Today, Nozi is inspiring other mothers to spread the impact of mothers2mothers by sharing their own stories. Across nearly 600 m2m sites in sub-Saharan Africa, she is part of an effort that encourages women to help others by telling their stories of how the organization helped them overcome the “fear and stigma of HIV, give birth to healthy children and become role models in their communities.” mothers2mothers was established in 2001 to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV through the education and support of pregnant women and new mothers...
by lwang | Mar 28, 2012 | Female Empowerment, Health, m2m
Last week, we had the honor of finally meeting mothers2mothers co-Founder and International Director Robin Smalley at the Kravis Prize ceremony, which was full of CMC students this year. Not only did she offer her inspiring words to our students, Smalley also shed light on the issues that the organization is working to change. In the video below on mothers2mothers from the Red Ribbon Foundation, she discusses the statistics and issues underlying the organization’s mission: “There really isn’t a reason why a single baby should be born infected [with HIV] today. We have fewer babies born in the U.S., the U.K. and Europe combined in a year than in a single African clinic. It’s unacceptable and it’s unnecessary. … For us, we believe prevention is the best way to start. If we can keep babies from getting infected, we don’t have to worry about treating them later on.” m2m may have started in Cape Town, but since then its impact has spread far and wide. It has grown to almost 700 sites across seven sub-Saharan African countries, employing more than 1,600 HIV-infected mothers to mentor over 300,000 pregnant women and new mothers each year! m2m has broadened African women’s access to not only medical care and HIV education, but also emotional support. m2m mentor Rebecca said: “Since I joined mothers2mothers, I got employed and I get a salary. My life has changed because I’m able to look after my children, to buy whatever they want. I’m also able to look after myself … but apart from the money that I get from mothers2mothers, I also get satisfaction by working...
by lwang | Mar 1, 2012 | Female Empowerment, m2m
Here at the Kravis Prize, we are proud to sponsor some of the most innovative nonprofits, including one of this year’s Kravis Prize winners, mothers2mothers. Not only does m2m help to educate pregnant women and new mothers on how to prevent HIV transmission to their unborn babies, the organization also provides social support to HIV-positive women and helps them access existing healthcare services. Unique in its innovative approach to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), m2m is widely recognized around the world and receives support from organizations including UNICEF. Studies have also been conducted to capture the impact of m2m’s programs, which show how m2m is truly a leader in this area. In 2007, USAID, the Human Sciences Research Council and the Population Council conducted an evaluation of 17 m2m sites in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which provide services five days per week to women at the clinics. m2m staff are also available to go home with a mother who requests support for HIV status disclosure to a partner and/or other family members. Researchers interviewed HIV-positive pregnant and postpartum women that participated in the m2m program and those who did not. The study found that “m2m participants had greater psychosocial well-being, greater use of PMTCT services, and better PMTCT outcomes.” In fact, “more than nine out of 10 pregnant program participants felt that they could do things to help themselves, cope with taking care of their infants, and live positively.” “The findings suggest that m2m plays an important role in providing a continuum of care for HIV-positive women and their infants. The program strives to keep women linked to health...
by lwang | Feb 22, 2012 | INJAZ Al-Arab, m2m, Soraya Salti, Uncategorized
Established in 2006, the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership recognizes and celebrates extraordinary accomplishment and bold leadership in the nonprofit sector. Over the years, the Prize has provided funding for the extraordinary efforts of the Rural Development Institute, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, the Forum For African Women Educationalists (FAWE), the Afghan Institute of Learning, Pratham and Escuela Nueva. However, the Kravis Prize offers much more than just financial support – we strive to share our recipients’ best practices with the nonprofit community and inspire future generations to become nonprofit leaders. This year, we are delighted to announce not one, but TWO winners of the seventh annual Kravis Prize in Leadership: Soraya Salti, CEO of Arab educational mentoring program INJAZ Al-Arab, and mothers2mothers, an organization that helps to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS through the education and support of mothers with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa! We’ll feature our amazing winners on our blog over the next few weeks, but check out the press release to learn some basic facts about Salti and...
