The Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign was launched on March 7 2006 and aims to:

• Encourage awareness in Canada about Africa’s grandmothers and their struggle to secure a hopeful and healthy future for generations of children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS;
• Build solidarity amongst African and Canadian grandmothers in the fight against HIV/AIDS;
• Actively support groups of grandmothers in Africa who are dealing with the painful loss of their own children and struggling to care for AIDS orphans. Funds will provide grandmothers with much-needed financial assistance, promote income-generating projects, and assist in providing coffins to allow for a dignified burial of their loved ones.

There are currently more than 50 Grandmothers’ Groups across Canada and groups have been formed in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. The groups are encouraged to:

• share their feelings about the plight of Africa’s grand others by talking to family, friends and their community and spreading awareness
• use the materials on the website to learn more about the issues and how people can become more involved and provide practical support, and
• to form a group and set goals for awareness and fundraising activities.

Any funds that are raised are given to The Stephen Lewis Foundation who serve as a vehicle to send funds to community-level projects that support grandmothers and their grandchildren. The SLF currently supports 140 projects in 14 countries, and assists women, orphans, grandmothers and people living with HIV and AIDS generally.

Children, Women, HIV/AIDS.

Sub-Saharan Africa has overwhelming numbers of children orphaned by AIDS, estimated at 13 million in 2006, and expected to reach 18-20 million by 2010. Amidst the overwhelming needs, grandmothers have stepped up to take on the care of children left destitute and alone. With hardly any resources, the grandmothers of Africa are at the heart of the community response to the AIDS pandemic.

According to HelpAge International, older women are the backbone of AIDS
care. In some countries in subSaharan Africa, between 40- 60% of
orphans live in grandparentheaded households; the vast majority of them
are cared for by grandmothers.

Over 50 per cent of orphaned children live in grandparentheaded households in Botswana and Malawi and over 60 per cent in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.