american mom bloggers\' stories from kenya: one trip that changed 10 lives

At any other time, San Francisco\'s mom, Amy Graff, will consider sending her children to summer camp to keep them out of the sun and keep them out of trouble.
But this summer, in Kenya, Africa, her concerns are completely different.
\"What I can think of is, \'Please don\'t be positive.
\"Please don\'t be positive,\" Amy Graff posted a blog at the Baby Center last week.
\"When we waited for the results of HIV testing for two children aged 3 and 5, I was freaking out.
I found myself praying. . \'Please, God. Please, God.
I know you haven\'t heard from me for a while, but please don\'t let it happen. . .
Then the second line went through [test]strips. My heart sank.
\"Graf is one of the 10 Am American mom bloggers who recently traveled to Kenya for a week-long trip, and they launched a campaign to write about the joys and sorrows of mothers living half of the world outside Kenya
Learn how to change mothers and babies around the world in the millions of moms challenge. They met HIV-
Active mothers test whether their children are infected with the virus and see the huge changes that malaria vaccines can make in the lives of women and children in Kenya, and meet the miles of medical reach patients by bike or on foot.
They then shared their experiences with thousands of readers in the United StatesS.
Although there are many differences, similarities are really important for many American women.
As blogger Jyl Pattel wrote, \"When I asked a lovely African mom what her biggest challenge was, I predicted her answer was\" to keep my child alive \".
On the contrary, what I hear is the same as what I care about: \"Raising good children.
Women all over the world face challenges.
But ultimately, at our core, we have very similar concerns and needs.
Listening to world news tonight, David Moore travels to Kenya with 10 of the most influential bloggers of American mothers, where they explore the sisterhood of their mothers.
Here is an excerpt from each mother\'s story.
This fall, please note when ABC News will bring you more stories about the challenges and joys mothers face around the world. Amy Graff (BabyCenter)
Amy Graff is the blogger for Baby Center and San Francisco Chronicle.
\"The size of the cabin is the size of a walk --in closet. . . .
The floor is dirty;
The walls are crumbling.
An old sheet divided the house into two rooms. . . . No TV.
No fridge.
There is no art on the wall.
This is the simplest life. Karen wallund (Chookooloonks. com)
Karen Walrond is a writer and photographer.
She is also the author of \"chookooonks\" and this is an award
Award winning photo blog
\"As soon as we arrived at Betty\'s house, she invited us to a neat place where she lived with her father and three little girls.
We share stories. . . .
We talked about how difficult it was to raise children. -
She\'s a single mother of three. -
We can try to keep up with them and feel helpless if our children get sick.
\"On our trip, it was said that while experiencing the natural beauty of Kenya, there was something stirring on a fairly basic level, which is true: I hope everyone is blessed to experience it firsthand. \"Rachel Fox (
Alimelfoxcom alive. blogspot. com)
Rachel Fox gave up her nursing career in 1999 to become a full-time nurse
Mother of three.
Her blog, live, records her work with a mother and how her mother has changed her world view. \"Only twenty-
I lived in Kenya for four hours. \' . . .
I \'ve only slept for a few hours in the last few days, and when we finish this first day of work, I\'m completely soberly holding the woman I met today.
\"The beauty and strength I see in these women today will always be with me.
The trip ignited a passion.
Jennifer James (JJamesonline. com)
Jennifer James created the Mom blog club, one of the biggest social networks for moms with over 14,000 unique users.
She also writes for her personal blog, JJames Online.
\"We were able to talk to a traditional midwife.
The wisdom in her old face and voice is obvious.
In an area where women cannot easily go to the hospital for prenatal care, women like this are critical to helping pregnant women deliver healthy babies without dying in the process.
Today we are riding in the slums.
If you were born and raised in the United States or any other developing country, it is likely that you have never seen poverty as we have seen today.
\"Women are the backbone of Kenya.
They will provide food for the African continent.
The agricultural economy is crucial to Africa\'s future.
Lindsay Maines (Rock mom. com)
Lindsay Meins is the mother of a three-child and the wife of a touring rock bassist.
She writes for her personal blog, rock mom, among other things.
\"Early this morning, when our bus arrived at the scene, we were welcomed by a group of beautiful women in all kinds of elegant and colorful costumes, and he began to sing, and sang a very strong Kenya who--
This is a version of a football match where the audience cheered during the break.
\"I heard a Kenyan joke today, \'We don\'t have oil in Kenya. -
Our main export products are our employees.
We all laughed, but the truth is that despite the abundance of natural resources in Kenya, the people are an amazing asset. . . .
You can\'t really pretend this extraordinary level. ness. \"Emily McHann (TheMotherhood. com)
Emily McKhann is her colleague.
Founder of the award
Win the mother.
Recently named \"one of the most powerful moms on the Internet\" by Parents magazine.
\"In front of her house, Margaret had a big smile on her face and immediately told us that she had almost completed her six tasks --
After a month of TB treatment, I was in good health.
She said she was unable to get out of bed and take care of her family or work earlier this year.
She was dying, miles from any clinic, and felt like she had no choice.
Shane, 23, lives with four of her. year-
Her daughter Nicole lives in a six-by-eight room where she is a hair stylist. . . .
Mercy said: \"My mother\'s salon is called salon charity, and when I open my own salon, I also want to name salon Nicole with my daughter\'s name, \"I hope my daughter will have a better life. . . .
For ONEMoms, Mercy is one of us and she wants her daughter to get the best care and do everything she can to give her. \"Shayne Moore (ShayneMoore. com)
Shayne Moore is the author of the book \"Global Soccer Mom: It\'s easier to change the world than you think.
She also writes for her personal blog, soccer mom worldwide.
\"I\'m just a mom from the Midwest.
I don\'t have all the answers, but I can learn, raise awareness and raise the voice.
\"I have never been to a slum like Kibera. It was sunny. Fun.
Full of laughter, color and life. It was filthy.
We passed the brothel and the girls sniffed the carts of glue and rotten produce. We walked on. \"Elisa Morgan (Fulfill. org)
Elisa Morgan is the publisher of fullfill, a free digital magazine for women of all ages.
\"I \'ve always been pretty sure I don\'t have AIDS.
I mean, I \'ve been married to the same man for 32 years. I\'m healthy.
I don\'t give blood because of my weight. challenged. But honestly. . .
I never did a test.
How can you be sure if you have never been tested?
\"I have to see every step ---very carefully.
The stench is indescribable.
I was hiding under the clothesline and dogs were everywhere.
Around me: rows of roofs and alleys, chickens and women cooking, men wandering around, and vegetables and dry stinking fish piled up on the table. Kibera.
The largest slum in AfricaCooper Monroe (TheMotherhood. com)
Cooper Monroe is
The founder of the Social Forum \"mother.
\"We are surrounded by a small wooden table, open the front door and let the light in so that we can see the test strips start to form lines. . . .
When we talk on the table in front of us about mom\'s HIV test being positive.
\"How is progress ? \"
In many ways, it seems to be made from a step of focus, enthusiasm, kindness, thoughtfulness and a deep feeling. \"Jyl Pattee (MomItForward. com)
Jyl Pattee is the founder of the \"mom It advance\" blog.
\"I see some children with pneumonia have IVs in the head, others are on oxygen tanks, fighting malaria, swelling and breathing quickly.
I was told that just a few years ago there was no such luxury in the village.
Luxury goods refer to heart monitors and oxygen tanks.
\"To read more about a week-long trip to Kenya, check out a mother.
For more global health news, visit SaveOne at ABC News. net.