The Gathering Gathers Momentum

After lunch that day, the action gathered momentum, following a carefully planned programme.  The theme of the afternoon's activities was Economic Empowerment, starting with remarks by Kezia Mukasa from the Uganda Reach the Aged Association.  Here is where we learned more of the plight of the GMs--and how neglected they are by their government.  Of the pain and the suffering they have withstood.  Here is where my copious notes become sketchy--so much information, all in little spurts, not tied together in any way.  I'll do my best to put it all together, hoping you can get the general ideas, and the feeling of this experience. 

The GMs were divided into four large groups according to their lanyard colours, and two Canadian GMs (at least) were assigned to each group.  Our job was not to participate, but to take as accurate and detailed notes as possible of the "breakout workshops"--the topics announced were Savings Schemes, Financial Management, Agriculture and Wealth Creation.   Heavy stuff!

Alix and I were assigned to a workshop on Household Income.  The question asked was basically "What income generating activities are used in your households?  What do you do to generate an income?"  They asked us (the rapporteurs) to listen for words and ideas that were repeated often (we were getting all our information through a translator as the facilitator and grandmothers were all speaking the Ugandan language.)

In foreground Alix and I bent over our notebooks as translator (left) dictates what is being said. 

Basically, the grandmothers have no support from the government or their husbands, and their children are either dead, or "gone to the city", so they  have to generate their own income to feed the children they have taken under their care.  The income creation starts with them. 

They agreed that this gathering gave them a chance to learn from each other how to use the few assets they have, the land especially.  And it is giving them a voice.  They can learn from each other, as they exchange  information about their projects.  Some of these were:  high value crops such as onions, potatoes, carrots, pawpaws, cabbage--which they could eat, but also sell.  Some of them are venturing into "cash crops" such as coffee, tea, tobacco.  And then there is animal production; poultry, goats, pigs,  rabbits and an occasional cow. And fishing.  Other examples:    Beekeeping, mushroom growing, Irish potatoes, manure, tomatoes, water!!, sugar, peanuts, sogum, cocoa, pineapples, hops, quarry (hammering large rocks into gravel to sell), milling grains for flour, weaving, trading goods and services with other households. Brick making and bricklaying.  Selling milk.  "Make sure your family has enough first."  Children can help with some of the work projects.  In a few rare cases, the husband helps, too.  Trading goods and services with other households.  "Grannies are the experts."

The next question was "How do you use the proceeds from your activities?"  A lot goes to medical care.  Remember, many of these GMs and children are HIV/AIDs positive.   Luckily now there are medications available to keep them healthy and productive. 

Other uses of their earnings were for planting, seeds, buying more animals.  Some have built stands at the roadside, or have a truck stand.  Some have bought a piece of land.   Some are becoming very competent entrepreneurs.  In all of this, they agree that the grandmothers are the experts, helping each other, with the assistance of the community based organizations which I will tell you more about later.

The facilitator at this workshop described a great metaphor for what they had been discussing.  She said something came into her head as they spoke--a tree with a trunk and roots and branches is like a household.  A tree without those things,  when the wind comes (hunger, disease) the tree may fall.  The household is the trunk, and the activities are the roots. The branches are the proceeds from your generating activities.  The tree with strong roots and trunk, many branches, can withstand the wind.  The tree = Family and community. 

As the workshop concluded the GMs said they would like to have more training and workshops, more education about agriculture, crafts, marketing, accounting.  They would like to have a training school for themselves and their grandchildren.  Lots of practical ideas were shared.  It was a most animated and exciting conversation.  All the GMs present had a chance to speak, and were thanked by the facilitator for their participation.  They truly do have a voice.    "You are the experts--we are here to learn from you."

While we were recording this workshop, there were three other workshops going on, which I can't tell you much about.  Except that they were probably equally animated and exciting.  At four o'clock we resumed our places in the large convention hall for a pleniary session.  They spoke about disclosure of HIV/AIDS--another difficult topic.  We did a stretching exercise called "picking mangoes--put them in the basket"--very stimulating.  Outcomes of first workshops--Grandmothers need to be listened to--need to be in the forefront, handled as special people.  They urged us to spend money at the market in the park.  Patience, daughter of Kaka Jolie reminded all GMs that she is there to help anyone who needs help--just go and talk to her.   Psycho Social support is needed.   

There is so much more I could write, but I must stop somewhere.  There was a tea break after this, and we all went outside to drink tea, schmooze with the jajas, and  relax, laugh and buy some beautiful articles to bring home.  Another page will be devoted to that later.

 

Tea Break after a busy afternoon.

 

 

The rest of the afternoon from 6 to 7 was devoted to Granny Networking, which covered many various activities, and from 7 to 10 there was a Cultural Evening and Dinner served in the park, followed by amazing entertainment.  What a day!!  What an Evening!

 



 

Dining and Dancing in the Park.



The Gathering Begins . . .

November 30, 2015

Yes, there has been another long delay.  I'm really sorry.  I actually had written this blog a couple of weeks ago, and something happened to it, and it went poof!  I'm sure this has happened to some of you, and it certainly is a downer--I knew I could definitely not replicate it, so I just put the whole thing aside to do other things.  In the meantime, the Stephen Lewis Foundation staff has been working hard to collect and sort thousands of photographs for our use, (deposited by categories in DropBox) and have built a PowerPoint template for us to use when doing presentations.  All of these things are technical challenges for me!!  I have already done two mini-presentations without all the technical help, and they went fairly well.   One of the other things I did, too, was to have an interview with Gordon Lambie of the Sherbrooke Record. It was an excellent article published last Tuesday, November 24, and perhaps when I learn how to do it, I will include it in my blog.  I am trying to learn the technology as I go along.

Monday, October 5 early in the morning, the quiet of the big hotel slowly shifted to a buzz of activity. We were up early for breakfast, and already there were grandmothers arriving--like a kaleidoscope of butterflies landing in the rainforest, these gorgeous women appeared in their brightly coloured traditional dresses, shyly entering the hotel where everything was to happen.  Excitement began to rise and flow in our hearts.  Each grandmother ("jaja" in the Ugandan language) registered her name and her group, and we all received name tags on lanyards that were colour coded by regions.  We were all given beautiful patch work bags, each one unique, made in Uganda, to hold all the treasures we would collect along the way.  Over 500 of those bags were distributed that day.  Some of the jajas wore their bags with the handles around their necks like a bright billboard, showing the embroidered logos of the Grandmothers Gathering and the Stephen Lewis Foundation. 

Photo by Oscar Kibuuka Mukisa

At the back of the registration hall was a kiosk run by the St. Johns Ambulance medical people.  They will feature in my story as time goes on. 

Once registered, we went into the largest convention hall, where we sat in our groups, according to our coloured lanyards and name tags.  We Canadian grannies sat right in the front, which was a good vantage point, but we later wished we could have been mixed together with the Ugandan grannies with whom we were already making friends

Photo by Edward Echwalu

There was much excitement, hugging, and yipping as we took our seats.  At 9 am the show began!  The MC was a great lady, a jaja herself, by the name of Kaka Jolly!  She had a powerful voice  and relentless energy as she directed us through the schedule for the day.  This started with general welcomes and introductions as more  and more jajas and the staff members of their groups entered the  hall.  Kaka Jolly introduced her daughter, Patience, who is the director of one of the community based organizations that provides medical help for the jajas.  She spoke to the whole gathering and said "if you have any problems, you must come to see me today and I will help you."   She said she would be at the St. Johns Ambulance kiosk at the back of the registration hall.  She was very emphatic about this.

Kaka Jolly and Daughter, Patience
Photo by Edward Echwalu



 There was also a group of younger women, some teenage girls, ("girls in skirts") who were there to help out in many ways.  "If you need help, ask one of them".  They were dressed in modern dress, so were easy to distinguish from the jajas in their traditional garb, but still very colourful.  African women are not afraid of intensely bright colours.  A few grandmothers came up on the stage and spoke of their experiences, challenges and triumphs, along with some ad lib singing and dancing.

Photo by Edward Echwalu

 Clearly this was just a time for everyone to get settled in, because the Opening Ceremony was yet to come!  And before that, guess what!  We had a Tea Break.

Photo by Me



Tea Breaks came to be one of the favourite activities.  Tea and cookies were served very formally (with proper tea cups and saucers, and linens) by the hotel, out in the large park leading down to the beach.  There were some chairs and benches scattered about, but many of the jajas preferred to sit on the ground under the trees.  We stood in line to get our cups of tea, and that was another opportunity to make new friends, and visit the tables where the community based organizations (CBO's) were exhibiting and selling some of their wares.  It was a little market, and there were always jajas or younger women (and a few men) there to proudly sell their crafts.  We were to learn later, that this was the only way some of the jajas earned a living to support dozens of grandchildren.  It was a beautiful setting, and I think we all came to look forward to the tea breaks, which were quite frequent during the gathering.

Refreshed, we were back in the hall, for the formal Opening Ceremony.  A prayer by Kaka Jolly, the Ugandan national anthem, and the East African Anthem.  Welcoming words from Kenneth Mugeyehwenkyi, (I will only spell that for you once--from now on I will just call him Kenneth!)  was Chairman, and the energy behind this whole event, a most humble man.  He said he had waited a long time for this event, the first national gathering organized by six CBO's with help from SLF--"a dream come true--my joy is complete."  To the gathered jajas he said "if it were not for you we don't know where we would be today. The country is held together because of you--thank you all for coming... . .  Finally the grandmothers have a voice"  I will write more about Kenneth when we visit his project later.  But he was everywhere this day, quietly making sure it all went smoothly. 

Laurie W. from Oakville and Kenneth during the Tea Break
Photo by Me



Numerous grandmothers came up on the stage to speak about their lives and the work of their groups, hungry to use their new found voices.  I wish I could describe each speech, but my fingers were not fast enough to catch all the words, some of which were in Ugandan with a translator.  There were regional performances, dancing and singing, a lovely song by jajas written especially to express their love for Stephen Lewis, and a rather ridiculous performance by us Canadians,  singing "Land of the silver birch, home of the beaver, where still the mighty moose wanders at will . . . . boom diddy boom diddy boom diddy boom"  with much gusto--a song we had just learned the night before.   Don't ask! 

Boom diddy boom diddy boom diddy boom!
Photo by Edward Echwalu

This was followed by remarks by Theo Sowa, the Head of the African Women's Development Fund.  She was not a stranger to us, as she has played an important part in the African Grandmothers Tribunal held in Vancouver last year, and also at the Ask Her meetings which were held in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa this year.  From my sketchy notes I can quote a few words,  "Today we meet in Entebbe to  celebrate all our successes to keep our people alive. . . . we've come together to show how strong African women are.  . . . we are learning how to make use of our strengths . . .by the end of these three days we will have learned (much more) we can take away with us to different parts of Uganda".   You will see photos of Theo later. 

There were also remarks from the Minister Of State for Disability and Elderly, (his name was Titus) which were greeted with lack of enthusiasm, as he clearly did not understand the situation the grandmothers were living.  We were there to help inform him!  It was also unfortunate that the First Lady of Uganda (the wife of the President) the Hon. Janet Kataaha Museveni did not show, although she was on the programme.  She sent another lady to represent her, and to visit the exhibition stalls and to be photographed with the jajas.  This was a disappointment, but it did not spoil the cheerful  atmosphere of the day.  Titus announced that he would have his picture taken with "some old women", and the result of this photo is the one you see below.   Can you find Titus in the photo?  Do you see Kenneth?

Photo by Edward Echwalu

By the way, we had four young, local professional photographers with us, wherever we went, and they did a marvelous job and left us with around 9,000 photos to use in our blogs, letters, presentations, photo albums,  etc.  I plan to dedicate a whole blog page to these photographers--and it will be more of a photo gallery--lots of images, and few words.

Lunch was served at 1:00.  I don't know how the hotel did it, but somehow it accommodated and fed over 500 hungry jajas with an incredible buffet.  Some of the jajas preferred to sit on the dining room floor.  I sat (not on the floor) with a group of jajas from the north west part of Uganda, and I met Joy, who will be the subject of one of my blog pages to come.  

This is Joy in her marching shirt on Wednesday
Photo by Me




What I noticed as I sat with these women was the size of the lunches they had served themselves.  Heaping plates full of meats, breads, salads, and regional food I cannot name--really heaping!  My new friend Joy was a tiny woman, and I thought perhaps she was going to save some of her lunch to take home with her for supper or for the children, but no . . she finished every crumb.  It was explained to me later, that many jajas only eat once a day because of the work they have to complete, and of course, the lack of food.  Joy told me all about herself, and it was from listening to her that I began to feel a sense of optimism--that perhaps the tide really was turning on HIV/AIDS in Africa. 

I am going to leave you there because there is so much more to tell you about that day, that I will start another blog page.  I hope you are not bored by all the detail--I am so privileged to be able to recount this experience, I am hoping you can feel a little bit of the excitement and hope, too. 

I will be glad to get feedback from you, and any suggestions about my blogskills!  Sorry that my photos all have a blueish tint--another technological problem to solve. :)  A bientot. 

Our First Three Days . . .

October 2, 3, and 4.  Well, in my last blog we got as far as our arrival in Entebbe airport.  Entebbe is a city right on the edge of Lake Victoria.  We stayed at the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel, a huge establishment with five floors of rooms, meeting rooms, a gigantic convention hall, an acre of lobby where we often sat together in big leather chairs before or after meals, a dining room a restaurant and a bar, and a wonderful shady park that rambled down to the water’s edge—where we often had “tea breaks”.   

The name and the elaborate spread reminded me of one of my favourite authors, Alexander McCall Smith, who wrote  humourous detective stories set in Africa.  He loved names like this.  If you enjoy  light-hearted detective novels with an African flavour,  look him up! 

Why such luxury?  It seems rather extravagant but it was explained to us that “the price was right”, and it fulfilled all our needs.  Don’t forget, we were paying our own way at the rates the SLF were able to negotiate.   Practically the whole Convening took place in this hotel. 

On that first day we were pretty much the only guests, and we were busy unpacking, getting to know each other and our roommates, and finding our way around, changing US$ to Ugandan shillings, etc.  We were pretty much all exhausted with jetlag, but too excited to relax and catch up on sleep.  Looking back at it now, I realize I didn’t catch up on my sleep until I arrived home twelve days later.  We sat together in the dining room, served by an army of waiters, experienced their varied menu and the buffet where we could find just about anything we liked, both local and “American”.   Even the Nile Beer.  J   Some wonderful friendships began to blossom.   

We had briefing meetings with the SLF staff, and began to understand what our role was in this amazing event.  We were there to observe and report.  We were encouraged to mingle among the African Grandmothers, and learn from them personally, about the situation they are currently living.  At workshops we were to record all this so that it could be “boiled down” at the end, into the distillation of a Ugandan Grandmothers Statement--the follow-up to the Toronto Statement (2006) and the Manzini Statement (2010).  Had anything changed?  Our observations would help to answer that question.  

 It was suggested that we leave our cameras in our rooms, and allow the three or more local photographers who had been hired to cover the whole event, take photos for us.  That was hard to do!  There were pictures crying out to be taken wherever we turned.  I took a few with my iPhone, and I am glad I did, and will share some of them with you.  But I am exceedingly grateful to these professional young men – (Edward, Emmanuel and Oscar) who were everywhere, recording the event from every angle, far better than we could have ever done.  We were in their photos, schmoozing and hobnobbing with the GMs.  The GMs felt much more comfortable being photographed by their own young men.  Hiring them was a brilliant idea. 

It is all part of the SLF policy of allowing the Grandmothers and the local community based organizations, to run their own show, and have their own people do the work.  GMs could speak out freely and express to us what they were living, and how we could help them.  It was an exercise in listening, instead of talking.  Watching instead of acting.  Becoming engaged in the event instead of controlling it.  It was an important lesson for us.   But I am getting ahead of myself.  We have not yet even met a Ugandan Grandmother!  We were 20 Canadian Grandmothers and two British Grandmothers, preparing ourselves  for possibly the most exciting and important experience of our lives. 

 

One wing and entrance to the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel

 

Meeting in the lobby--smiled down on by Owner

Getting There . . .

They say that getting there is half the fun!  I’m not sure about that.  Getting there was quite an involved, stressful procedure, eased by the SLF givinguseful  advice and information via a number of teleconferences where we were briefed,  and questions were answered.  Lists were sent of things we should bring with us. We began to know our fellow travellers by their voices and names.  I started packing.

We each needed to apply for a Ugandan Visa and we each had to go to our local travel clinic and have all the necessary vaccines administered—both costly and a little painful.   Each of us was responsible for our own fund raising.

 

                                                                      Photo by Laurie Wierzbicki

                                                                        

 The whole trip probably cost $5000+.  We were given the option of soliciting AeroPLan Miles or dollars for our airfare.  I opted for AeroPlan miles and was eventually successful in  collecting enough AeroPlan  miles (120,000) to pay for the $1,800 ticket. 

 

My thanks and gratitude go to friend Pat Webb, friend/son Brian Patrick, and two of his friends, Laura Mills and Ian Burgess, my friends Gissa Israel, Theresa Stott, Bev & Gary Crandall and several anonymous donors.   

Very Important . . .The staff and Grandmothers of SLF do most of their flying back and forth on AeroPLan miles.  They are very grateful for your donations, and it is very easy to do.  Please consider donating your AeroPlan Miles to the Stephen Lewis Foundation regularly.  More information can be found on the AeroPlan website, and the SLF website or just Ask Me!   

The rest of the trip was paid for in cash donations, again from family and friends and my own resources.  It was well worth every nickel.  I did solicit our local politicians and 16 Quebec senators, but only received the courtesy of a reply from one of them, whose answer was “sorry, but NO” .  

I left home at 2 am October 1, and Granny Alice drove me and my two bags to the Pierre Trudeau Airport for 4 am.  My Aeroplan route took me from Montreal to Washington to Addis Ababa to Entebbe.  I was very nervous about travelling alone in unknown airports.  So I was advised by friends to ask for “assistance” , and this worked very well, as I was whisked in a wheelchair through the Dulles airport by a very genial Egyptian worker, onto a shuttle bus, and to the gate from where the Ethiopian flight was leaving.  There I met my first Granny colleague, Laurie from Oakville, wearing her distinctive granny scarf, and we travelled together the rest of the trip, which was long but smooth.  We spent three hours in the Addis Ababa airport, window shopping and drinking fruit juice in a little restaurant, and getting to know each other—a lasting bond.  At last we arrived in Entebbe at 1:00 pm Uganda time on October 2, where SLF folks were waiting for us.  Hooray!

October 31, 2015 

I have been home for three weeks, and I am finally beginning to catch up with my blog.  I truly apologize for this delay.  I promised I would keep in touch, but I didn’t.  Blogging in Uganda turned out to be much more difficult than I thought—time was pretty much all scheduled for us-- there were long, busy days, and exhausted nights--and the wifi was not always reliable.  Those are my excuses.  

Also, during the gathering, I tripped and fell on my face, which slowed me down a little, but didn’t stop me.  And the day I arrived home, I developed an intestinal bug which laid me low for the first week of my return, and by that time I was scurrying around trying to put together a presentation for the Quebec Grannies Gathering on October 30.   The poor blog just kept being postponed and postponed.  

 Now I will never be able to give you a day by day description of the trip, a blow by blow account of each day, because it has all become a huge blur, inspite of the copious notes I kept.  (You may be grateful for this.) What I intend to do is make a series of blog entries, each featuring something of importance that occurred during those 12 days of the visit, as well as the outcome of the entire event.  I will include at least one photo with each blog entry, and when it is all put together, it will be my best effort to share this most incredible experience with you. 

People ask me “How was your trip?”   I have not yet found an adequate one-word answer.  Those emphatic adjectives we splash around, like awesome, amazing, incredible, are simply inadequate.   It was a life-changing experience which indelibly marked my soul.  And part of my soul will remain forever in Uganda with the jajas I met, hugged and danced with.  

“Trip” is not even the right word!  It was a mission involving over 500 jajas and Grandmothers, along with many staff members of the Stephen Lewis Foundation and Ugandan community based organizations.  Was the mission accomplished?   We believe so . . .

 

Grateful to the Grannies

Seventeen hours to blast off.  Putting finishing touches on packing--meditating and trying to stay calm. 

Hoping to meet Denise Colgrove in Entebbe on the day I arrive.  She tells me there are six hotels with the name "Imperial" in it, so things remain complicated.  I'll tell you more about this later. 

 My flight arrives in Entebbe at 1:00 pm their time.  My Granny travel companion whom I will meet at Dulles airport tomorrow, has lost her phone.  Ma Tante  Raymonde  (another Granny) will be arriving here soon, to take my wee doggies to her house--the separation anxiety is mostly on my part.  My two puss cats are in the capable hands of my friend and co-Granny Meredith.  Another co-Granny, Alice will drive me to the airport at the ungodly hour of 2 am tomorrow morning. A number of Grannies have joined in the "crowd funding" of this trip.  I have received many e-mails and phone calls wishing me well.  I was nominated by Grannies to take this trip.  I hope I can represent them well, and be a useful and productive Granny on this trip and on my return. 

The Grannies have been such a wonderful support in so many ways, I am profoundly grateful for their help.  It is definitely a group effort! 

Leaving for Entebbe in Three Days . . .

Actually, the first post was written four years ago when I decided to create a blog, but once created, I abandoned it!  I am now resurrecting it, because I have something special to write about. 

I am leaving for Entebbe in Uganda in two and a half days.  I am going with a group of Canadian Grandmothers, who are part of the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, helping to ease the suffering and turning the tide on HIV/AIDS in Africa.  Most of you know something about this, but if you don't,  please look us up at: www.stephenlewisfoundation.org and www.grandmotherscampaign.org

Right now I am running in circles like a wet hen, and can't think very clearly.  I'm in the middle of packing and making sure everything is under control here at home before I leave.  I have promised many people that I will keep in touch, so I hope this blog will do the trick.  I am just learning how to blog, and how to get the word out to you, so be patient with me.  :)

The exciting time will be when I arrive in Entebbe, and I can describe what's happening and what we are doing.  These first few posts will be practice posts for me.  I will be using my iPad and will have to seek out places that have wifi.

There is a lovely little article in today's (Sept 28) Record by Gordon Lambie--try to get your hands on it--it will give you a better idea of what is going on.  Right now I have to make a list of people who I would like to include.  I have no idea what I'm doing!!!  Yikes!

Jane's First Post--Answer to a Literacy Challenge!

I took a challenge a while back, in celebration of National Literacy Day.  A challenge to become more literate in new ways.  What better way than starting a blog.  I need to improve my technical skills, and I love to read and write.  As the days go by, and I get better at this, I intend to share my thoughts and information about a number of things that I am passionate about.  Some of them are :  Literacy, Ageism, ADD in older women, Easing the Pain and Turning the Tide on HIV/AIDS in Africa, Photography, Jazz and Dogs.  There will be more, but these I am already deeply involved with.

Did you know that right across Canada, the number of adults who are functionally illiterate is staggering?  I have been involved working with the Yamaska Literacy Council for a number of years, tutoring adults who need help learning to read.  You'd think that in a progressive country such as ours, this cannot be true.  But those involved keep this a dark secret--faking it, hiding, and living lives of deep shame and unhappiness.  If you know of anyone who might be in this plight, please help them to find a literacy centre who will help.  Free one-on-one tutoring is available in many centres across Canada.  Google "literacy" for more information, or just ask me, and I will help you find the information you need.