28  grandmothers riding their bicycles from Campbell River to Victoria – 275 km in three days.  What for?  Good question … they do it for the grandmothers in Sub Saharan Africa who walk long distances as they look after their grandchildren who have been orphaned by AIDS. We bicycle; they walk. We have bicycles and cars, safe houses and government pensions; they don’t. Their struggle is not reported in the Canadian news media, unless there is a new horrible crisis like the kidnapping of schoolgirls in Nigeria or the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa.  And yet, there are over a million of them and over 15 million children orphaned by AIDS who often have no one to care for them other than their own grandmother or the grannie of a friend.

We bicycle to draw attention to their courageous struggle and their enormous accomplishments when they receive assistance through the Stephen Lewis Foundation and money raised by Canadian grandmothers in the Grandmothers  Campaign.

On my educational trip in March last year, I was lucky enough to visit grandmother’s cooperatives in Ethiopia, Rwanda and South Africa, and saw their work first-hand. Through their community gardens, they grow food and raise chickens and goats so healthy nutrition becomes possible and the surplus can be sold. They teach crafting skills to young HIV+ women, who have been abandoned by their families due to the shame and fear of AIDS. They educate the children and the community about safe health practices, HIV and safe sex, as well as birth control. They train members of their group to become home care and community health workers who volunteer to go out in the community and look after women who have been abandoned because of their HIV status. They nurse, feed and psychologically support them, not afraid to tell  family members that they themselves are HIV+, on medication and no longer afraid to die.

In countries with a high rate of illiteracy, performing a play is a very effective way of educating the public, and in Rwanda we saw such a play. It explained the new laws that protect women’s rights, and the role that community mediators and community paralegals, once again trained through the Women’s Cooperative, can play in family conflict and infringement of women’s rights; no expensive lawyer required!  Photo at left depicts a shyster trying to buy the house from the alcoholic husband, which is no longer legal under new Rwandan law; the wife’s signature on a contract is now required.  Photo at right shows a community mediator acting and explaining her role in the play.

The grandmothers in Africa rarely get a day off, but at the Hillcrest Aids Society in the Valley of a Thousand Hills in KwaZulu, Natal, they have created one ‘playday’ a year for the grandmothers in their area, the GoGoLympics. Since we Canadian grandmothers participated this year, it was the first International GogoLympics, which made the local newspapers as well as Australian TV!

We played soccer, netball, jump rope, ball toss and pass the ball. The teams were fiercely competitive. Great celebrations followed the awarding of the winning trophies; over 1000 grandmothers had been bussed into participate. And yet even here, there was a quiet but very well attended medical tent on the sidelines where not only AIDS testing, but also other important health issues were addressed, including testing for tuberculosis, diabetes, malaria and other more mundane problems. No opportunity to promote health and provide care is wasted.

As the grandchildren came home from school, they rapidly took over the field, reminding us that it is their future that is at stake.

The grandmothers are the leaders and the experts in knowing what is needed and how to achieve results in their communities. But they cannot yet do it alone, and the countries they live in are still too poor to assist them in sufficient measure. This is why Canadian grandmothers answered Stephen Lewis’ call for action and started the Grandmothers Campaign.

We ride to raise money, to raise awareness and to make the voices of the African grandmothers heard in Canada.   It is our goal to assist them in creating a future for their grandchildren orphaned by AIDS.  They have so little; we have so much.  It is so worthwhile to share.

Granny Ride 2013 arrival in Victoria

Following is a backgrounder on the upcoming Granny Cycle Tour.  The ride this year starts September 5th – Campbell River to Qualicum Bay; Sept 6th – Qualicum Bay to Chemainus; September  7th –  Chemainus to Victoria, using the Mill Bay Ferry instead of the Malahat!

What goes through your mind when you see a group of older bicyclists wearing neon green, orange and yellow shirts struggling up hills and braving weekend traffic on Island roads and highways? Do you think this must be a group of extreme athletes or a bunch of foolhardy seniors?

If you notice this group pedaling along in the hot days of August and any time during the weekend of September 5th to 7th, you will see grandmothers and “grand others” preparing for and riding a route of 275 kilometres, from the starting point in Campbell River to the finish line on the lawn of the BC legislature in Victoria. They are cycling in support of African grandmothers who are the sole caregivers of their grandchildren who have been orphaned due to the AIDS pandemic.

Funds raised by these grandmother cyclists go to hundreds of African grassroots organizations working with grandmothers and the children in their care in partnership with the Stephen Lewis Foundation. The SLF collaborates with grassroots groups who support grandmothers’ immediate needs such as: nutritious food, health care, transportation, home visits, adequate housing and bedding, school fees, uniforms and supplies for orphans – and longer-term needs such as parenting and business skills, micro-credit grants, bereavement counseling, HIV awareness training, counseling and testing and grandmother support groups.

In addition to fundraising, all riders pay a registration fee to participate in the ride, and pay all of their own accommodation and meal expenses. Every penny of the money the riders raise is forwarded to the Stephen Lewis Foundation to be used for African grandmothers.

What is it that makes these Canadian seniors train for months in preparation for this ride, fundraise and spend their own money to ride nearly 100 kilometres a day for three days in rain or shine, in hot weather or in cold? The answer is simple. It is what they believe they can do to show solidarity with African grandmothers who have no other means than walking long distances with heavy containers of water or other goods on their heads as they struggle to look after their grandchildren. It is the Island grandmothers’ way of living out the motto of the more than 240 national grandmothers’ groups of the Stephen Lewis Foundation – “We shall not rest until they can rest.”

So, as you pass by in your car or stand by the side of the road, remember the goal of these seniors and give a wave or a honk and perhaps a donation. Whatever your support, it will help them to climb their own personal “mountains” and give hope to grandmothers far away in Africa.

Vancouver Island grandmothers will be cycling onto the lawns of the BC Legislature on Sunday September 7th to a ‘Welcome Gathering’ to celebrate the conclusion of their 2014 Cycle Tour from Campbell River to Victoria. These 30 women, who range in age from 55 to 72, will have ridden 275 kms over three days in support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign.

Everyone is invited to the Legislative Lawns to welcome and celebrate with the grannies. The event will be held from 2:15 – 3:30 p.m. and includes the Gettin’ Higher Choir and African drumming music.

To learn more about the cycling fundraiser, the welcome home event or to donate to the cyclists please click here.

Paxie Vreede
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