Who are the Wakefield Grannies?
We are a group of women in Wakefield, Quebec who joined together in the fall of 2004 with the idea of supporting emotionally and financially the efforts of grandmothers in South Africa caring for AIDS orphans. The Wakefield Grannies are a group of women offering support to AIDS Orphans and their Grandmothers in Alexandra Township, South Africa.
Background
On a visit to Quebec in 2004, Rose Letwaba spoke about her work to a small audience at the Wakefield United Church. Rose is a nurse in the health clinic in Alexandra Township on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. The picture she painted was of a whole generation of South Africans lost to AIDS and grieving grandmothers left to carry the burden of raising their grandchildren to be healthy, educated and socially responsible adults. Rose described a group of 40 grandmothers ("gogos" in Zulu) who were meeting at her clinic for sewing classes, gardening and moral support.
Spontaneously, 12 Wakefield women lead by Norma Geggie came together to help, becoming the first Grannies to link with the Alexandra GoGos. In less than a year the Wakefield Grannies were joined by the Concordia Grannies of Rhode Island and the Montreal Grannies. Today the Wakefield Grannies have over 36 active members writing to Gogos, working on events and helping to educate our community about the issues of HIV/AIDS.
Poverty comes close on the heels of HIV/AIDS as those who should be the backbone of the workforce fall ill and die. The Wakefield Grannies are committed to providing financial assistance to their counterparts in Alexandra. To do this they produce fundraising events; including a concert, a play-reading and a quilts sale.
The Wakefield Grannies also have an individual Gogos to whom they write letters. It may seem that raising money is the most important aspect of our activities. In fact it did to some of us until we began to receive letters from our pen-pals and from Rose who wrote that “Morale is high in these groups and there is a lot of hope, just the idea and the thought that there are Grannies on the other side of the world who care so much about them, make these groups appreciate life.
Background
On a visit to Quebec in 2004, Rose Letwaba spoke about her work to a small audience at the Wakefield United Church. Rose is a nurse in the health clinic in Alexandra Township on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. The picture she painted was of a whole generation of South Africans lost to AIDS and grieving grandmothers left to carry the burden of raising their grandchildren to be healthy, educated and socially responsible adults. Rose described a group of 40 grandmothers ("gogos" in Zulu) who were meeting at her clinic for sewing classes, gardening and moral support.
Spontaneously, 12 Wakefield women lead by Norma Geggie came together to help, becoming the first Grannies to link with the Alexandra GoGos. In less than a year the Wakefield Grannies were joined by the Concordia Grannies of Rhode Island and the Montreal Grannies. Today the Wakefield Grannies have over 36 active members writing to Gogos, working on events and helping to educate our community about the issues of HIV/AIDS.
Poverty comes close on the heels of HIV/AIDS as those who should be the backbone of the workforce fall ill and die. The Wakefield Grannies are committed to providing financial assistance to their counterparts in Alexandra. To do this they produce fundraising events; including a concert, a play-reading and a quilts sale.
The Wakefield Grannies also have an individual Gogos to whom they write letters. It may seem that raising money is the most important aspect of our activities. In fact it did to some of us until we began to receive letters from our pen-pals and from Rose who wrote that “Morale is high in these groups and there is a lot of hope, just the idea and the thought that there are Grannies on the other side of the world who care so much about them, make these groups appreciate life.