by Erin Alvarez
Associate Producer/Host “Star Report”, CTS Ontario
While battling a rare form of bone cancer from the age of 12 to her early teens, Maddison – Maddie – Babineau decided she wanted to make a difference. “Maddie spent a lot of that first year in hospital going through chemotherapy and radiation,” said Maddie’s mother, Sharon. “It was at that time she learned of the plight of the young children in Africa.” At age 6, Maddie lost her father to ALS, and it’s because of this, Sharon believes, that Maddie felt such empathy for these children, many of whom were orphans.
And so, when Maddie was approached by the Children’s Wish Foundation, “she thought long and hard, but she wanted a wish with meaning,” recalled Sharon. “She said, ‘Mommy, there are many things that I want, but do I really need them?’” Maddie finally chose to give her wish away to offer a better life to the children in Africa who, she felt, needed it more than her. It was through an organization called Free the Children that Maddie’s wish came to fruition. But after a 9 month remission, Maddie’s cancer came back and she soon learned that these children could not attend their school because they had to fetch water from a faraway well. And so, Maddie began another project to raise money to build a well for them. Maddie sold jewellery out of her hospital bed, and with the help of many in the Hamilton community, she was able to raise enough to have it built.
This community in Kenya now has a school and a well because of this amazing girl. Sadly, Maddie didn’t live long enough to visit the children she loved so much, as she passed away on May 15th, 2007. Her mother Sharon is determined to carry on her daughter’s dream. I hope you’ll join me as part of the CTS team on Saturday May 31st at the Hamilton Waterfront for an event called M.A.D. 4 Maddie. This event will help to raise funds for Free the Children.