I View Mother’s with Awe

In the early 2000s in Africa, millions of mothers were living with HIV. It was a problem of inconceivable proportions. More than a million women were becoming new mothers each year with a virus that would first take their babies’ lives, then theirs. At that time, I was a doctor working in South African clinics, trying to teach, treat and engage mothers in practices that would help their babies to be born without HIV/AIDS and help them to survive and raise their children.

These mothers changed my world because my world revolved around them. But I couldn’t help in the way I wanted to. I was from the wrong side — an American, a man, HIV negative, living in a different culture, speaking a different language. I tried to support these women, but more than often I felt my words were hollow and went unheard.

That’s how mothers2mothers was born — an organization that trains, employs and empowers mothers living with HIV to care for other mothers living with HIV. Mothers2mothers (m2m) is dedicated to eliminating the transmission of HIV from mothers to babies and improving the health of women, their partners and families. Since it was founded, it has reached more than one million mothers in nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Working alongside doctors and nurses in understaffed health centers as members of the health care team, m2m’s Mentor Mothers provide essential health education and psychosocial support. They are paid and rigorously trained, which benefits not only their respective families but also the community as a whole, which helps to reduce the stigma associated with HIV. So many mothers have stories of unspeakable sadness — partners who have rejected them; children, siblings, even parents who have died of the virus. There are stories of coming home to share their HIV status with family members only to find that each brother and sister has been living with the same virus and the same secret fears. All of these extraordinary mothers overcoming seemingly impossible challenges; rising up, fighting to survive. I view mothers with awe; for their resilience; for their generosity of spirit; for their capacity to heal themselves and then reach out and heal others.

Dr. Mitch Besser is an obstetrician and gynecologist, Mitch’s career has been dedicated to the public health needs of women. In 1999, he joined the University of Cape Town, assisting with the development of services for HIV-positive pregnant women to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT). It was through that work he recognized a need for an education and psychosocial support programme that would help PMTCT services achieve the best medical and social outcomes, founding m2m in 2001. Among the many awards, Mitch has received are the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the Presidential Citizen’s Award.

Learn more about mothers2mothers