In October 2015, hundreds of grandmothers from across Uganda made history in Entebbe.
They came together for the country’s first National Grandmothers’ Gathering. It was an unprecedented opportunity for older women diversely affected by HIV and AIDS to voice their experiences, share their innovative strategies for responding to the pandemic, and collectively lay claim to their rights, too often denied. They released the powerful Ugandan Grandmothers’ Statement, calling on government, the private sector, civil society, media, UN Agencies and members of the international community to support their collective vision for a future in which their grandchildren and communities are thriving, and have left the ravages of AIDS behind.
The Ugandan grandmothers were joined by grandmothers from Kenya and South Africa, as well as by 22 Canadian grandmothers representing thousands of members of the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign. Penny Lewis from Vancouver was one of those present. On Monday, Jan. 25, she will be sharing highlights from her trip, as well as sharing the message that the Ugandan grandmothers gave. Her talk will be hosted by the Glacier Grannies, at their regular meeting in the Comox United Church Hall at 1:30 p.m.
The Glacier Grannies is one of over 240 Grandmothers groups across Canada that raise funds to support grandmothers in sub-Saharan Africa. Members of other Grandmothers groups from Merville, Campbell River, Denman and Hornby Islands will also be invited. Interested members of the public are invited to attend.