Three special guests from Malawi joined a group of Weyburn grandmothers on October 18 at the Inner Wheel of Weyburn?s Grandmothers for Grandmothers Fundraising Luncheon.
The luncheon, attended by men and women alike, raised $9,175 for the Stephen Lewis Foundation?s Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, which supports grandmothers raising their grandchildren, orphaned by Africa?s HIV/AIDS pandemic.
?I can?t imagine having babies and children to care for and not being able to feed them,? said luncheon organizer and Inner Wheel member Delaine Barber.
She explained that while there are grandmothers in-need right here at home, the women in Africa are especially vulnerable because they have no social network or government assistance to help them, even though their needs are so dire.
?We believe very strongly in extending the hand of friendship in a humanitarian way,? said Barber.
As the world?s largest women?s humanitarian organization, helping women in Africa fits Inner Wheel?s mandate well.
Members of the AfriGrand Caravan spoke at the luncheon about issues affecting them - the grandmothers and teenaged granddaughters in Africa, left to raise grandchildren, younger siblings and cousins who have been orphaned by HIV and AIDS. The Caravan is a Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) initiative that is travelling from coast to coast to allow these women to share their stories of challenge and triumph dealing with the ravages of AIDS.
Rosemary Makandanje, a 54-year-old grandmother from Malawi who is single-handedly raising her daughter and three grandchildren (aged three, six and eight), in addition to her 94-year-old father and three teenage boys who lost their mother to AIDS, spoke at the luncheon.
?People have to be aware of what is happening on the other side of the world,? said Makandanje. ?We are beginning to see small changes.?
She discussed a SLF initiative called Consol Home which has 107 child care centres, works with over 500 community volunteers and provides support to more than 30,000 children in 1,200 villages. Through Consol Homes, Makandanje has received training and resources for income generating activities, including poultry and livestock rearing, seed and fertilizer for crops, and sewing and crafting materials.
Through Consol Homes, Makandanje has become a member of the grandmother support group, which began with four members and now has over 100 ?gogos? (grandmas).
The Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign also provides Makandanje with food, clothing and school fees.
The other two members of the AfriGrand Caravan were 27-year-old Ruth Maulana and 18-year-old Maness Kamwaza. Both young women are raising younger cousins and siblings who have been orphaned by AIDS.
The sold-out luncheon was very successful, according to Barber, raising over $400 more than last year and over $3,000 more than 2008.
Inner Wheel also held a raffle which raised $1,367 of their $9,175 total. Raffle winners included Carol LaCharite (handmade quilt), Ilyne Thiessen (handmade afghan) and Lisa Cugnet (mantle clock).
The luncheon came to a close with the extinguishing of the Candle of Friendship, an Inner Wheel tradition. Makandanje put out the flame and stated that she prayed that the ?light of hope? for African grandmothers did not go out with it.
Inner Wheel President Diane Horner insisted that it would not. ?When we blow it out we leave with the flame of hope inside of us.?
The symbolism of the candle was not lost on guests of the luncheon, who left better informed about the plight of African grandmothers and hopeful that their generous contributions would be put to good use.
