If you were traveling through a poverty striken area and you had a baby of your own that you were still nursing…could you walk away from a hungry newborn baby that had nothing to eat? Actress Salma Hayek was in Sierra Leone on a humanitarian mission…she nursed an African newborn who was starving because his mother could not produce milk for her child. Salma was moved to feed that child. She talked about his eyes lighting up as he began to feel the nutrition flow into his body. She was moved in her heart to feed him; because i believe that a nursing mother can’t ignore a hungry baby that is crying out in his/her need; that is called basic human compassion. Still, you would think that we all had that in abundance; but, not always so, some would run the other way as quickly as they could go.
This moment was captured on film by the news crew of “Nightline” who were along on the trip for Unicef , to promote the importance of tetanus vaccines. Unicef and Pampers have a campaign called 1 Pack=1Vaccine; Salma is a spokeswoman for Pampers. www.unicefusa.org or www.pampers.com/unicef
I love the message of what Salma did; purely from the standpoint of, if you see a need fill it. Salma still is breastfeeding her own child who is approximately 1 year old. She understands the importance of, the nutritional value as well as the bonding value of, breastfeeding.
Surely there will be those individuals who will criticize her for what she did. There will be naysayers who will bring up the issue of aids and to the possible exposure to her health or that of her own child. They will say that she did this as a publicity stunt, or for the attention. Some will say in the larger scheme of things…did that one feeding make a difference; will it save the life of that child. I believe it made a difference. I believe an African woman saw an American woman with heart. I believe a baby felt fulfillment, comfort, and love. I pray that the mother and child received more help. A world saw a desperate moment and an act of love.
I say, she was in the moment. She saw a child in need; she felt the despair of a mother who could not provide for her child the most basic necessity in life at that time for her child; she did what she was able to do. I love that she didn’t think twice. Those who have been blessed in life and find themselves around others in need have a responsibility to share. I respect Salma for doing it so very naturally. There are so many in need around the world…what can you do to make a difference?
Write where you are 