The Wakefield Grannies are a group of women offering support to AIDS Orphans and their Grandmothers in Alexandra Township, South Africa.

The Background

On a visit to Quebec in 2004, Rose Letwaba spoke about her work to a small audience in the Wakefield United Church. Rose is a nurse in the health clinic in Alexandra Township on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. The picture she painted was of a whole generation of South Africans lost to AIDS and grieving mothers left to carry the burden of raising their grandchildren to be healthy, educated and socially responsible adults. Rose described a group of 40 such Grannies who were meeting at her clinic for sewing classes, gardening and moral support. Click here to find out about the Alexandra Renewal Project.

Spontaneously, 12 Wakefield women, lead by Norma Geggie (81) came together to help, becoming the first Grannies to link with the Alexandra Grannies or GoGos to use the South African word. In less than a year the Wakefield Grannies were joined by the Concordia Grannies of Rhode Island and the Montreal Grannies. On March 7, 2006, the Stephen Lewis Foundation announced its Grandmother to Grandmother Campaign and at last count there were 30 groups operating in Canada and the United States. The project has become an international movement.

Poverty comes close on the heels of HIV/AIDS as those who should be the backbone of the workforce fall ill and die. The Wakefield Grannies are committed to providing financial assistance to their counterparts in Alexandra. To do this they produce fundraising events; including a concert, a play-reading and a quilts sale.

Each woman also has an individual GoGo to whom she writes letters. It may seem that raising money is the most important aspect of our activities. In fact it did to some of us until we began to receive letters from our pen-pals and from Rose who wrote that “Morale is high in these groups and there is a lot of hope, just the idea and the thought that there are Grannies on the other side of the world who care so much about them, make these groups appreciate life...The sewing club is doing well, they are about to finish their first outfits which include a skirt, jacket and blouse. I am impressed with what they have learned and last week most of them were harvesting their crops. Life goes on. Pass my kind regards to all the Grannies and I wish you all good luck in your endeavour to help African Grannies who are overwhelmed by the pandemic.”

The activities of the Wakefield Grannies help AIDS Orphans and their Grannies in Alexandra Township and the events they produce benefit their North American community. In turn these personal relationships enrich our lives and allow us to play a part in alleviating the devastation of the worst medical disaster in history. Please join us in the Grandmothers to Grandmothers movement.

Forty Vernon people who attended Kitchen Safari, sponsored by Grannies à Gogo: the Vernon - South Africa Connection, fondly remember November 7, 2009 as a night of delicious African cuisine. Guests, assigned to animal groups - Elephants, Lions, Cheetahs and Giraffes, were hosted at each of four homes designated Wallow, Watering Hole, Veld and Savanna. Prior to the event guests received instructions to guide them on their Safari. For example: The Elephant family gathers at Grabinsky’s Wallow (...)

"In October the Kings Kikima Grannies[new name] were graced with a visit from Ruth Kyatha who is our liason person in the village of Kikima Kenya.
She brought news of the progress our 28 gogos and 60 grandchildren have made. She was a guest at the Rotary Club in Wolfville and when asked what could be done to help, she suggested that goats would be a great gift. So it was decided that the Rotary club would send her 750.00 Cdn for 25 goats plus the $100 that a high school student had (...)