Trip leaves lasting impression on grannie
June 21, 2010
Nanaimo News Bulletin, by Rachel Stern
Nanaimo’s Donna Anthony has returned from Africa with a mission – to carry the voices of African grandmothers to the rest of the world.
Anthony, who founded the Nan Go Grannies organization five years ago to support African grandmothers caring for their grandchildren orphaned by AIDS, attended the International Gathering of the Grandmothers conference in Swaziland in May.
It was her first trip to Africa – an experience she said has touched her in ways she can’t put into words.
Nan Go Grannies raises money for the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which supports projects spearheaded by African grandmothers. Anthony’s visit to the country allowed her to listen to the experiences of the women and see their projects first hand.
Anthony carries with her an overriding emotion after seeing grandmothers struggling with few resources to tackle the AIDS epidemic sweeping across the continent.
"A sense of outrage that the world community has let this happen," she said.
Despite its prevalence, the stigma attached to the disease means most people won’t even use the word AIDS.
"People virtually die before they get tested," said Anthony. "They use a lot of names for it, anything but saying AIDS."
More than 500 grandmothers from 14 countries stood in solidarity with their African counterparts.
Anthony is carrying their voices to Nanaimo and anyone who will listen through the Manzini statement, a message which came out of the conference and captures the hopes, strengths and needs of African grandmothers.
The statement calls on the rest of the world to recognize that the devastation of HIV/AIDS would be much greater were it not for grandmothers – the backbones of their communities – caring for orphans.
"We demand the economic independence to support our families; to provide nutritious food; decent housing; access to ongoing quality education for our grandchildren and a richer quality of life for us all," reads the statement.
It goes on to say that grandmothers need the resources to manage their own projects in critical areas.
One area of change identified during the conference is that of inheritance laws. Women in Swaziland and other African nations have no inheritance rights and receive no assistance from the estate to help care for orphaned grandchildren.
To help spread the word among the international community, the Gran Caravan, made up of two African women – Siphiwe and Mama Darlena – two foundation members and their granddaughters, will travel across Canada this summer and fall.
Their goal is to unite with other grandmothers and talk about the struggles in Africa. They hope to create an inter-generational movement and get more young people involved in the work.
The Gran Caravan will stop on Vancouver Island but there is no confirmation yet on whether that includes a Nanaimo visit, said Anthony.