Powered by a Grandmother’s Love One hundred and forty local women are involved in awareness-raising for the Stephen Lewis Foundation's "Grandmothers to Grandmothers" campaign. They are awed by the smart, strong and compassionate African women, and intrigued by the commonalities and differences between our lives and theirs. The local grandmas are great cyclists and walkers, skilled, generous, inclusive and caring people. In addition, they are committed to supporting African grandmothers (gogos) who are rebuilding their families and communities after losing their children to HIV/AIDS. The most notable commonality is the depth of love all of these women feel for their grandchildren. It provides the motivation to do whatever it takes to help the youngest generation survive and thrive. Margie is a Sidney resident, and a member of VG4A, whose grandma role has an interesting twist. She was in her 20s, living with her parents, when she became pregnant. She told noone in her family, and moved away. A baby boy was born and she gave him up for adoption. Decades later, conversations with others convinced her by Laurie Wilson
Victoria Grandmothers for Africa
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to register with Adoption Records in case her son was looking for her. As a result, she unexpectedly found and contacted him. Margie eventually moved to be closer to her son and his growing young family, and so began her life as a grandmother. The only time she cried while telling me her story was when she tried to explain how much she loves her two grandchildren. Philister lives outside of Kisumu in Western Kenya. She is the only adult remaining on her family compound, having nursed and lost her husband and all of her siblings and children. She was left with seven grandchildren, grieving, struggling, and sick herself, having also tested positive for HIV. When asked how she made it through these dark and difficult days, she credits her granddaughter Beatrice, who was three when her parents died. Beatrice took special care of her "nya nya," making sure she always ate something, keeping her company when she was tired and weak, and helping her come back to life. When Philister took her grandchildren to the clinic to be tested for HIV, only Beatrice was positive. Nya nya and granddaughter started taking medicine together, and help each other stay strong and choose life. [Story from Powered By Love, 2017. Read it!] There are many commonalities among the grandmothers of Victoria/Sidney and Africa beyond that of devoted love for their grandchildren. Joanne's husband has Alzheimer's. Lee lost her mother at an early age. Lynn lost her son. Phyllis was a widow too soon. By this age, almost all of us have experienced the deep grief and lingering sadness caused by the loss of a loved one. But can you imagine the depth of despair that must be felt by Philister and others like her, as most or all of their adult family members become sick and die? Another unfortunate commonality among grandmothers everywhere is that, despite their evident skill and expertise, older people suffer from invisibility, older women even more so than older men. It is hard to get people to pay attention to us, and therefore more difficult to make a difference. It is with pride, admiration and love that local grandmothers are helping our African sisters address similar barriers, in order to make as big a difference as possible in the Africa of the next generation. "We will not rest until they can rest" is a pledge made by Canadian grandmothers after the 2006 Toronto Gathering, where the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign was launched. Laurie Wilson is a member of Victoria Grandmothers For Africa (VG4A). This group, and Sidney's St. Andrews Grandmothers, are associated with the SLF campaign, which functions as a partnership with grandmothers' community-based groups in Africa. Find out more at www.stephenlewisfoundation.org, www. grandmotherscampaign.org and www.victoriagrandmothersforafrica. ca. The 12th annual VG4A Cycle Tour from Campbell River to Victoria is taking place September 7 to 9.