Area 'grannies' head for Africa
February 20, 2008
Ottawa Citizen, by Don Butler
"I think," says Sue Cousineau, reflecting on her involvement with the burgeoning grandmothers' movement, "I'm getting more raging as I get older."
On Saturday the 63-year-old Chelsea resident leaves for Africa, where she and 11 other Canadian grandmothers will spend two-and-a-half weeks visiting African grandmothers who are raising children orphaned by AIDS.
Joining her will be Ottawan Joan Turner, a 71-year-old retired social worker and grandmother of four.
The two are part of a Canadian grandmothers movement that now encompasses more than 5,000 people and nearly 200 groups that have raised in excess of $2 million to support grandmothers in Africa.
In sub-Saharan Africa alone, an estimated 13 million children have been orphaned by AIDS. Up to 60 per cent live in grandmother-headed households.
Ms. Cousineau belongs to the Grassroots Grannies, a group of long-time cycling friends formed in September 2006. So far, they have raised $7,000 for African grandmothers.
Ms. Turner is a member of the Unitarian Go Gos, an Ottawa church-based group formed about a year ago. They have raised about $6,500.
The Stephen Lewis Foundation, which organized the trip, selected the two from among 50 applicants across the country. They will travel to Uganda, South Africa and Swaziland before returning to Canada on March 11.
Ms. Turner, who has never been to Africa before, was the only member of her group who applied. "It just seemed to me like an amazing opportunity at this time in my life."
She regards the trip with excitement and "a huge sense of responsibility. We're told we're ambassadors for all the grandmothers in Canada. To me, that feels huge."
Before retiring, Ms. Cousineau worked as program director for the International Sport Development Program, which uses sports to do development work in the Caribbean and Africa.
As part of her job, she once spent three weeks in "some pretty tough areas" of Zimbabwe. "I think I'm prepared for what I'm going to see," she says.
When they return, the 12 grandmothers will spend a year spreading the word about the plight of African grandmothers. "It will probably be longer," says Ms. Cousineau. "We won't be stopping after a year.
"If we can get more people contributing to the issues of HIV and AIDS and certainly the grandmothers, then that's our goal."
That's already happening, says Ms. Turner. After she mentioned she'd been selected for the trip, three women at her church approached her to say they wanted to join the grandmothers group.
On March 8, International Women's Day, the Canadian grandmothers will march in solidarity with 1,000 women in Swaziland, a nation that practises polygamy.
Ms. Cousineau expects marching with the African women to be memorable. "As hard done by as they are, they have this inner drive. They're just such joyous people. I've got my camera and my camcorder, and I'm going to be recording everything."