The grandeur of the grandmothers
Hamilton woman experiences journey of lifetime in Africa
Landing in Uganda in late February, Gail Rappolt must’ve felt not so much as though she’d flown over an ocean as simply put her other foot down, to complete a step.
By now, after 12 productive years, it’s almost as though she and the thousands of other women on both sides of the Atlantic, in the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign to end AIDS in Africa, had all but pulled the continents together. In a way they have.
Ever since her friends told her about listening to Stephen Lewis talk about the sub-Saharan AIDS crisis in 2006, Gail has been journeying toward Africa in many senses of that idea.
She’d never physically been there until now, but she has raised money and awareness, from her support of projects like Blooms for Africa to 2015’s Walking to Uganda in Hamilton, a virtual voyage using pedometerrecorded walking miles.
This year was her literal landfall. From Feb. 26 to March 1, she took part in the Grandmothers Gathering, an international conference in Arusha, Tanzania, organized by the Stephen Lewis Foundation. She tells me that she has never experienced anything like it in her life.
Gail is presenting a public reflection on the experience, called African Grandmothers: The Pillars on May 27, 2 to 4 p.m., at First Unitarian Church, 173 Dundurn St. South.
She was one of only 11 women from Europe, Australia and
North America, and more than 200 from different parts of Africa, who took part in the collective effort that culminated in a march to the Tanzanian government offices in Arusha to present a list of recommendations.
“I understood before what it meant to believe in the work of the foundation, because of how that work is done, not top down but community organizations on the ground in Africa,” Gail says.
“I didn’t understand how complex that is on the ground until I experienced the sophistication and planning of the conference, to ensure that nothing is done to undermine the mantra to the African grandmothers: ‘you have the power, the voice, the resources, the expertise.’ Now I have a deeper understanding.”
The trip included visits to two Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) community-based programs in Uganda — in Kampala and Entebbe. She and the others met the people who conduct and take part in training programs at hospitals and mobile units. She met young people in schools, thanks to Grandmothers to Grandmothers and other SLF initiatives.
Later, in Arusha, there were days of workshops, brainstorming, camaraderie, singing, dancing and shopping. They were encouraged to buy items they could bring back home and use for fundraising. Gail has pictures of fantastically colourful fabrics and other artifacts in the shops.
The workshops dealt with such topics as building resilience; income-generating activities; healthy nutrition; property rights; parenting skills; the right to formal education; and traditional arts and crafts.
The agreed-upon recommendations were well received by a government representative, after a great and colourful walk of almost 300 women through the city, Gail says. “People waved to us along the route.”
The closing paragraph of the Tanzanian statement says much:
“Tanzania, protect us, listen to us, and give us opportunities. We are not asking for favours. We are speaking out for our human rights . ... When we are well taken care of, our nation flourishes.”
Gail praises the humanity of the experience — the care and sensitivity taken to make the
women feel comfortable, empowered.
“Some live without electricity, some can’t read, but there was a person assigned to each grandmother, to help even with simple things like elevators and how keys worked in the hotel. No one was left to feel” unequipped or embarrassed.
Delegates were encouraged to be sparing and judicious with cameras to avoid appearing intrusive, and to be measured in their reaction to heartbreaking stories.
“There were stories that made you want to cry, but with tears, the message can be that you have no hope.” And what they want most is not just hope but the knowledge the world cares and believes in them. Accordingly, the motto changed from “Ease the Pain” to “Turn the Tide.”
Gail never felt such an irresistible pull of that turning tide as she did in Tanzania, among the women who are generating it — the unbelievable grandmothers of Africa.