By Don Butler

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

In her real life, Petronella Makhanya lives in the Johannesburg slum of Alexandra Township, where she struggles to raise four AIDS orphans ranging in age from 20 months to 14 years. Yesterday, rather miraculously, she found herself standing on Linda Gorka’s lawn in Wakefield, Que., eating samosas and salads, enjoying the finest view in town. Ms. Makhanya, 57, is one of three South African grandmothers — known in Africa as gogos — visiting the village as guests of the Wakefield Grannies, a group that’s supporting 10 grandmothers from Alexandra Township who are raising their grandchildren and others orphaned by AIDS. Along with nurse Rose Letwaba, the three arrived in Wakefield on Sunday night after attending a meeting of African and Canadian grandmothers in Toronto organized by the Stephen Lewis Foundation. They leave Wakefield today to begin the long journey back to Africa. The contrast between their home and the picturesque Quebec village could hardly be more stark. "We have never seen such a place," marvels one of the African grandmothers, Lucia Mazibuko, taking in the verdant hills and sparkling waters of the Gatineau River. "For my grannies to be in this part of Canada is something they never expected," says Ms. Letwaba. "This experience will remain with them as long as they live. "Our land is dry and thirsty," she says. "You see Canada and you think, ’this just can’t be.’" She recounts a conversation with Magdeline Ramakobo, one of the visiting gogos. "She said, ’I think maybe this is a dream.’" Then there’s food. In Alex, there’s never enough. In Canada, says Ms. Letwaba, "they could snack and drink all the time." Declares the ebullient Ms. Ramakobo: "I’m eating everything that I see." Ms. Makhanya shares the general delight with Wakefield. "It’s just such a cool place," she exclaims, a reference not to its hipness, but to the pleasant temperatures that have prevailed this week. She’s even more enthusiastic about the Wakefield Grannies, and the difference they have made in her life and the lives of her fellow gogos. "Really, we have the best group," she says. "We are always saying, ’thanks, God.’ We were crying before, but they have wiped our tears away." Ms. Letwaba, whose talk at the village’s United Church two years ago was the catalyst for the Wakefield Grannies, never expected the relationship to become so important. She credits the leadership provided by Norma Geggie, the Wakefield Grannies’ 81-year-old founder who, like her, is a nurse. "She’s just an amazing woman." For the gogos, the Wakefield group "is like an extension of sisterhood," she says. "They feel emotionally supported." That sense of support extends to the whole Wakefield community, she adds. Residents have approached the gogos on the street to express their solidarity. "The support and love the Wakefield community has shown us is just phenomenal." Despite dealing with culture shock, the African grandmothers have quickly adjusted to life in Wakefield. Earlier this week, they went on a shopping spree at a nearby Giant Tiger, snapping up clothes for their young charges back in Alexandra Township. Yesterday, they checked out the Wakefield steam train and took a short cruise on the Gatineau River. And last night, they were guests of honour at a public event at the village’s United Church. Yet it’s impossible to forget about those left behind in South Africa for very long. "Now I’m thinking of them," Ms. Makhanya says of her four young charges. "I’m missing them a lot now." When their short time in Canada is done, says Ms. Letwaba, reality will hit hard. "I know the minute I step inside my house," she says, "I’ll feel the emptiness." International AIDs Conference © The Ottawa Citizen 2006