Winnipeg grannies walk for Africa
June 12, 2010
CBC.ca
More than 100 Winnipeg grandmothers walked Saturday to raise awareness of the challenges facing African grandmothers forced into caregiver roles by AIDS.
Dozens of similar events were taking place across Canada over the weekend. The grandmothers are raising money for the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which supports grassroots organizations in Africa.
The African grandmothers, one organizer said, need help with everyday basics.
"It's a struggle to survive as a family," Enid Butler, organizer of the Winnipeg march, said Saturday.
While helping their grandchildren cope with the loss of their parents, she said, the women are also grieving the loss of their children to AIDS, acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
"It is a horrendous situation," Butler said.
The Winnipeg group wound its way through downtown streets wearing brightly coloured scarves and headbands.