grandmothers in africa

(Gembe, Uganda, 2009)

Their collective wisdom is incalculable – so is the collective burden they carry when families are torn apart by HIV/AIDS. Africa's newest special interest group is that of grandmothers. They attended their first special conference in May to share experiences and call for international recognition of their uniquely difficult circumstances. A summit of grandparents in the west might prompt jokes about bingo and dentures, but the inaugural African Grandmothers' Gathering was a gravely serious affair. More than 450 grandmothers from 12 African countries met to discuss the impact of losing adult children to AIDS, becoming the head of a household and raising grief-stricken grandchildren as their own.

(Buyingi, Uganda, 2006)

(Magada, Uganda, 2006)

Grandmothers are at the frontline of the HIV-AIDS impact. They have to pick up the pieces and move on; they don't have time to grieve because the children need to be looked after. They are doing this without any income. They, for the most part, are not healthy people themselves; they often have diabetes and high blood pressure. These are women who are carrying on in spite of the challenges and the fear of what will happen to these grandchildren if they die.

(Kajjansi, Uganda, 2008)

The purpose of the gathering was to raise awareness of grandmothers' needs. The grandmothers are hoping to establish international support for grief counselling, access to healthcare for themselves and the children in their care, safe and adequate housing, economic security, safety from gender-based violence, raising community awareness and breaking stigma, support in raising grief-stricken grandchildren and access to education for children. Grandmothers from Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe were represented.

The African grandmothers were joined by a delegation of Canadian grandmothers from the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which supports community-based organizations fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. 



Stephen Lewis, chair of the foundation, said: 'Grandmothers are the unsung heroes of Africa. These magnificently courageous women bury their own children and then look after their orphaned grandchildren, calling on astonishing reserves of love and emotional resilience.'

- from The Guardian, UK