Local grandmother returns from historic African gathering

May 27, 2010

Adele Colby attended the march during the historic African Grandmother’s Gathering in Swaziland earlier this month. Courtesy Adele Colby.

For Adele Colby of Tichborne it was a dream come true. As chair of Grandmothers-by-the-Lake, the local chapter of the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF), she was one of 43 Canadian grandmothers chosen to attend the first ever "Grandmothers’ Gathering" in Swaziland. She spent five days in Johannesburg and a week in Swaziland where she met with 500 African grandmothers, just some of the many on that continent who with very little support are single handedly struggling to care for the countless numbers of children orphaned by the AIDS pandemic there

The trip gave Adele a first-hand look at the struggles these grandmothers and their young charges are facing and left her with a passionate determination to increase awareness and fundraising for their ongoing support.

Organized by Swaziland Positive Living (SWAPOL) and supported by the SLF, the event was led by the African grandmothers themselves and it provided a forum from which to share their experiences and formulate a concrete plan of action for the future.

The aim of the Canadian grandmothers who attended the gathering was to go as observers and see what progress has been made since 2006, after close to $7 million had been raised across Canada by the over 220 grandmothers’ groups.

Adele departed from Toronto on April 28 and her first stop was Johannesburg where her group toured the SLF-supported Cotlands Hospice. On the tour Adele met and spoke with 13 African grandmothers, all of whom had lost their own children to AIDS and were caring for a number of young children, some their own grandchildren as well as other orphans. Adele recalled the visit: “It was incredibly emotional to speak to these women who have lost so much and also to try to understand the depth of the damage done to these young children health-wise and otherwise. Some of the children have absolutely no social connections and while the drugs that they are now receiving have greatly increased their survival rates, other social programs are necessary to help their ongoing and continued development."

One of the SLF-sponsored programs that provides support at the hospice is a six- week orientation program for grandmothers that teaches them nutrition and hygiene, drug administration, childhood development and craft making so that they can better care for these children and prepare them for future independence.

Adele continued, ”These grandmothers showed incredible strength and never whined or complained though many of them are caring for anywhere from 5 to 15 children with very little support. They recognize that education for the children is the mainstay of what they do and stressed that if the children are educated many problems can be overcome."

Adele stressed that the funds raised by the grandmother’s campaign go directly to African grandmothers and while much progress has been made, “What we found out was that they still need money for very basic things like food, clothing, shelter, craft materials and education.”

By the end of the gathering a document called the "Manzini Statement" was drafted underlining the African grandmothers’ immediate needs for the future. Items included an increase in the African grandmothers pension which now stands at $50 USD per month; better access to education and housing and to resources to build their own capacity to raise healthy families, more training in home-based care, HIV/AIDS education, and further education in the care of orphaned children and adolescents.

Now armed with first-hand experience of the situation Adele Colby is even more determined to get the word out. She is offering to speak to local groups big or small about the Grandmothers Campaign and also hopes to double the group’s fundraising efforts this season. Adele can be contacted at 613 375-8845. For more information visit www.grandmotherscampaign.org

Grandmothers by the Lake will be holding a plant sale at the Tiffany Gift Shoppe in Harrowsmith on Sat. June 5 and will be at the Verona Cattail Festival in August as well.