INVEST IN A SOLUTION
When you Sponsor A Mom, you support HEART’s core program, WEEP. Your investment creates an opportunity for a Kenyan woman to, not only survive HIV/AIDS, but also to thrive by becoming self-sufficient to support her household. HEART's Sponsor A Mom program is not one to one, meaning a donor is not matched with a specific mother. These programs are expensive to administer and sadly due to the unstable health of the mothers some women pass away. HEART continues to support the children of the mothers who do not make it. The scholarship cost of $4,560 is an average as some women require more health intervention and have more children in their care than others. HEART maintains low administrative costs to ensure the maximum resources are available for the mothers and their households.
Thank you for making a generational impact for a Kenyan woman and her children with your generous support.
STABILIZE > EMPOWER > THRIVE
When the HIV/AIDS pandemic hit, many organizations focused on the orphaned and vulnerable children. HEART’s founder, Vickie Winkler, had been working in Kenya since 1979 as a missionary and nurse. Because of her medical background, she knew that HIV was manageable with the proper medication and nutrition and she created Women Equality Empowerment Project (WEEP) to focus on the mothers. In 2005, HEART formalized WEEP into a 24-month program to continue to save the lives of Kenyan mothers with advanced HIV/AIDS prevent their children and children in their care from becoming orphans. Without the program, these women would likely be dead and their children living on the streets, in orphanages, or dead. Some of the woman take longer for their health to stabilize which is why it can take up to 24 months for them to complete the program.
HEART teams find many of the women on their deathbeds and provide lifesaving medical care including antiretrovirals medication (ARVs), vitamins, and proper nutrition. Once the women are physically stable, they go through the program at a WEEP Center and are taught skills and about business. Throughout the program, they are provided social support, shelter, and the resources for their children to attend school. The intention is for them to become self-sufficient and break out of poverty by securing employment or starting a business, supporting their household, staying healthy, and owning a home.