Grandmothers Gathering a great success!

THE NORTHERN ALBERTA GROUPS GATHERING

 

Saturday, September 29 was a great day of connecting, learning, eating, laughing and shopping. Over 70 of us gathered to attend a variety of sessions. There were grandmothers/others from Eastside Grannies, Grateful Grannies, Hands Across the Sea, Rayanna’s Hope for Africa, Ujamaa Grandmas, and of course The GANG. The day began with a talk by Zodwa Ndlovu, an African grandmother who lost both of her children to AIDS and is herself HIV positive. Zodwa founded Siyaphambili HIV and AIDS Support group. Her talk was both heart wrenching and hopeful. There were a number of sessions offered throughout the day and then the conference closed with a keynote by the journalist Paula Simons talking about The Power of Stories. Paula began by telling us about her two grandmothers who were immigrants to this country. Her talk was both serious and funny and was a great way to end such an enlightening day. A big thank you to Eastside Grannies, Rayanna’s Hope, and to those members from The GANG (Wendy Legaarden, Joyce Madsen, Susan Bell, Lois Gluck) who organized the day. And also to the Grateful Grannies who supplied all the snacks. This day reaffirmed our resolve to work on as we stand in solidarity with our African sisters.

https://edmgrandmothers.org/