Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign
Sunshine Coast Grandmothers and Grand Others partner with African grandmothers who are raising a generation of children orphaned by AIDS. We raise funds, increase awareness about the challenges and successes of grandmothers in Africa, and build solidarity between African and Canadian grandmothers. We are part of the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, an initiative of the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
African grandmothers are the centres of their communities. With few resources, they display astonishing reserves of love, courage, resilience and hope.
Through the support of Sunshine Coast Grandmothers and Grand Others, and more than 200 other such groups across Canada, grandmothers in 15 African countries can access: children's school fees and uniforms, adequate housing, skills training, home care visits, grief and trauma counselling, and micro credit grants for income generation. Working in community groups, African grandmothers identify their needs and the Campaign responds.
Since 2006, Canadians have raised more than $25 million for African grandmothers through the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign. Our group has contributed more than $214,445.00 to this total.
We've almost always got something in the works, so keep an eye on our Events page!
To find out more about the campaign visit www.grandmotherscampaign.org
To find out more about the Stephen Lewis Foundation visit www.stephenlewisfoundation.org
Please join us as a supporter or a member.
Contact us at [email protected].
The International Grandmothers Gathering Statement and Reaffirmation of Commitment
From October 24-26, 2023, more than 750 grandmothers from across 13 countries gathered in-person and virtually as a part of the International Grandmothers Gathering convened by the Stephen Lewis Foundation and community led organizations. This is their call to action and their pledge to continue their work together:
"For 17 years, we have been united through the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign. Across our differences and in all our diversity, we have been driven by our love for our grandchildren and our communities. This love fuels our passion for justice and our commitment to working together to build a brighter future for ourselves, for our families, and for the generations to come. We are working together towards a world free from AIDS. "
"Together, we grandmothers of 13 nations on four continents have experienced the power of collective action. We have learned from each other’s challenges and from each other’s victories. We will persist. We will succeed. We invite you to join us."
To view the complete document please link here:
Listen to CBC's The Current: Leaving Children behind in the battle against HIV In Africa
Progress in the HIV pandemic is undeniable, but there are still so many people left behind, including children, adolescent girls, and young women. That's what the New York Times global health reporter Stephanie Nolen saw on a recent trip to Kenya. Stephanie has been covering the pandemic for two decades, and accompanied Stephen Lewis on his visits as UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Listen to Stephanie's conversation with Dr. Judith Kose of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and Matt Galloway of CBC Radio: The Current as they talk about the importance of not leaving children behind in responses to HIV.
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-63/clip/15963068
Listen to Stephanie's conversation with Dr. Judith Kose of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and Matt Galloway of CBC Radio: The Current as they talk about the importance of not leaving children behind in responses to HIV.
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-63/clip/15963068
Grandmothers are mobilizing to end violence against women
During a recent reflection on her decades of work with community-led organizations, Idah Mukuka Nambeya, Senior Advisor to the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, spoke about the evolving role grandmothers play in their communities:
“At first, grandmothers were blamed for bringing HIV into their families and stigmatized and discriminated against. In the midst of the entire trauma that grandmothers were going through, they were the ones who were taking care of their dying children in their homes, and also stepped in as second parents.
With support from community-led organizations, grandmothers started to form support groups. They started to engage themselves in income-generating activities, and getting involved in community activities. Even getting involved in community leadership. A sense of enjoying life started to come out. They learned that they were not alone and that HIV had affected everyone. Now grandmothers have become activists.”
The leadership and advocacy roles that grandmothers play in their communities includes working to end violence against women and girls. Gender-based violence and inequality is one of the root causes of the HIV epidemic.
Stepping Stones International is a community-led organization in Botswana. Their program, “Generational Change – Grandmother and Grandfather Advocates,” trains grandmothers to spot signs of violence and connect survivors to legal and psychosocial support. Through this program, grandmothers are also supported to start conversations with community leadership and police services to make sure women’s rights, and protection against gender-based violence are being highlighted in spaces where procedure and policy changes can be enacted.
Stepping Stones plans to continue expanding the number of grandmothers who are part of their gender-based violence prevention program, and they will work as a coalition, advocating for community rights.
“At first, grandmothers were blamed for bringing HIV into their families and stigmatized and discriminated against. In the midst of the entire trauma that grandmothers were going through, they were the ones who were taking care of their dying children in their homes, and also stepped in as second parents.
With support from community-led organizations, grandmothers started to form support groups. They started to engage themselves in income-generating activities, and getting involved in community activities. Even getting involved in community leadership. A sense of enjoying life started to come out. They learned that they were not alone and that HIV had affected everyone. Now grandmothers have become activists.”
The leadership and advocacy roles that grandmothers play in their communities includes working to end violence against women and girls. Gender-based violence and inequality is one of the root causes of the HIV epidemic.
Stepping Stones International is a community-led organization in Botswana. Their program, “Generational Change – Grandmother and Grandfather Advocates,” trains grandmothers to spot signs of violence and connect survivors to legal and psychosocial support. Through this program, grandmothers are also supported to start conversations with community leadership and police services to make sure women’s rights, and protection against gender-based violence are being highlighted in spaces where procedure and policy changes can be enacted.
Stepping Stones plans to continue expanding the number of grandmothers who are part of their gender-based violence prevention program, and they will work as a coalition, advocating for community rights.
