Helping African grandmothers

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

You might have noticed bright-red beaded bracelets popping up on people’s wrists around Cedar Park in Pointe Claire.

The bracelets have all been hand-made by members of the West Island Chapter of Grandmothers to Grandmothers, a Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) initiative that supports grandmothers in sub-Saharan Africa who must take care of their grandchildren, because the parents died of AIDS. The money raised through the bracelets – which range in price according to the size and amount purchased – will go toward support programs for African grandmothers.

Cedar Park Grandmothers member Heather Lefebvre said she and other members of Cedar Park United Church learnt about the plight of these African grandmothers in a sermon one Sunday last year. According to the SLF website, about 13 million children have been orphaned by AIDS in Africa and the numbers are expected to reach 20 million by 2010. Many grandmothers bury their own children and then must raise their grandchildren without support. In some countries, between 40 and 60 per cent of orphans live in grandmother-headed households, the SLF website says.

This past spring, the Cedar Park Grandmothers joined the international Grandmothers to Grandmothers ring – which has members across Canada, the United States, and Australia – and has since grown to about 20 members.

“We welcome any new members from outside the Cedar Park community too,” Lefebvre said, adding the group is not just open to grandmothers either. “We take grandmothers, we take mothers, we take wannabes, and anyone who’s interested in the project.”

To reserve or find out more about the bracelet campaign and the Cedar Park Grandmothers, send an e-mail to cedarparkgrandmothers@hotmail.com. Their next meeting will be on Jan. 16, 2008 at 7 p.m. at Cedar Park United Church, 204 Lakeview Ave. in Pointe Claire. On Dec. 19, Cedar Park United Church will also host a Charles Dickens Christmas Carol reading evening complete with cider and snacks. Bracelets and plenty of information will also be available.

For more information on Grandmothers to Grandmothers and the Stephen Lewis Foundation, visit www.stephenlewisfoundation.org