When One Person Matters

We keep a jar in our kitchen of pennies collected by some pre-schoolers. 1,400 pennies to be exact. The number is significant. Each day, 1,400 children are born in sub-Saharan Africa with HIV/AIDS or contract the disease as newborns from their mother's milk. Each day, 1,400 children are needlessly sentenced to death, because for a few dollars, these mothers could be treated and could avoid passing the disease along to their children.

Each day we look at the jar and we try to imagine the life represented by each penny inside. What might that little boy or girl grow into. Who might they love or touch.

Today, I stumbled across the life of an 11-year-old girl who has touched many. Her name is Hallie. And although she died tragically last year in an automobile accident, I use the present tense to describe her, because of the impact she is having in the fight against AIDS in Africa.

Hallie is responsible for the daytime soaps collaborating on this issue next month. (See yesterday's post.)

You should definitely take a few minutes and get to know Hallie. She was one amazing little girl.

Love, Hallie

Sort of makes you wonder about the 1,400 children that were born today with HIV/AIDS.