The Grandmother Revolution is Alive and Active in Ottawa 

by Peggy Edwards

“We grandmothers deserve hope. Our children, like all children, deserve a future. We will not raise our children for the grave.”

These are the collective words spoken on behalf of millions of heroic African grandmothers who are raising their orphaned grandchildren as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Last August, at the beginning of the International AIDS Conference, the Stephen Lewis Foundation brought 100 of these grandmothers together with 200 Canadian grandmothers – and launched a grandmother revolution.

One year later, that “Granny Gathering” in Toronto has given birth to the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign and over 150 grandmother groups scattered across Canada. Their Canadian Grandmothers for Africa: A National Network has raised more than $1 million to support their African sisters with food, money, training, access to medication and primary health care, emotional and social support, and community services to help them deal with the children in their care, many of whom are ill or psychologically traumatized. The money raised is sent to African grandmothers through the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

In the Ottawa/Gatineau Region there are 14 energetic granny groups committed to working on behalf of African grandmothers.

The grandmother groups also engage in advocacy efforts. To this end, the Network will hold the Grandparents Solidarity March on Saturday September 8.

The March will be led by grandmothers from Canada and Africa and is designed to be as inclusive as possible – of all generations and like-minded people. We hope to see grandmother groups, their children, grandchildren, friends and representatives of many other groups in Canada who want to ease the pain of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Special guests will include Elizabeth Mataka, UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa (who has replaced Stephen Lewis in that position), visiting grandmothers from Africa, the Honourable Josée Verner, Minister of International Cooperation, and Ilana Landsberg-Lewis, Executive Director, Stephen Lewis Foundation.

The March will begin with a gathering and program at City Hall on Elgin Street at 1:00 p.m.; at 2:00 we will walk to the hill (accompanied by drummers and singing) and at 3:00 p.m. there will be an entertaining and important ceremony on Parliament Hill. It will include music from local choirs and the presentation of a statement from the grandmothers to UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa and to the Minister of International Cooperation.

The AIDS pandemic in Africa has created an unbelievable need. There are over 13 million AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa – more than the total number of every boy and girl under 18 currently living in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Norway and Sweden combined. There are many countries, from Uganda to Swaziland, where 10 to 15% of the total population will be orphans by the year 2010.

African grandmothers are the unsung heroes of this pandemic and Canadian grandmothers in this land of plenty are determined that their stories will be heard.
Canadian grandmothers hope that the March will raise awareness of the dire situation of African grandmothers, show that we stand with them, and that Canadians expect our government to live up their commitment to provide policies and actions to address their needs.

I speak for thousands of grandmothers who support this cause and for all of us who love and honour our own grandparents. We have so much and African grandmothers have so little. Looking after the orphans of Africa is important, not only to their future, but to the future of the continent and its place in the world.

For more information about the Grandparents Solidarity March and the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign visit the website under construction at www.grandmotherscampaign.org  – or contact Sharon Swanson at sharons@superaje.com