Fall Frenzy

gogossubmitted by Marion Boyd

Oliver’s Grandmothers for Africa are inviting everyone to come and get a jump on their Christmas list.   They will be holding a

Fall Frenzy

Saturday, November 1

10 am to 2 pm

Medici’s Gelateria

 

It’s the perfect time to get some friends together, drop in, treat yourself to a latte or a wicked little dish of gelato and have some fun selecting gifts from a variety of handmade items from Africa and Oliver.   All the proceeds from sales are donated to the Stephen Lewis Foundation to support African grandmothers raising children orphaned by HIV/AIDS.   Your purchases are carried forward and do some good in a troubled world.

Sometimes there is a sense of overload as the news reports quickly move from one disaster to another.   What’s happening in Haiti?   Did Afghanistan drop from world view?   What happened to those 200 kidnapped girls?  Will they shoot the students in Hong Kong?  Who killed the protesters in Mexico?   And on it goes.

Those of us who have chosen to support the Stephen Lewis Foundation know one thing for sure.   No matter whether the news focuses on them or not, African grandmothers don’t quit.   They can’t quit.   They have to swallow the grief of losing their kids and dig in for the day to day work of raising their grandkids.   And they do.

At this end we cannot imagine the pain of watching our children die but we also know that should that happen every one of us would use every possible means to keep the next generation alive, to see that grandkids have some security, know love, have basic food and education.   We know all this deep in our hearts and for this reason groups like the Oliver Grandmothers have sprung up all across Canada and are making a significant difference in Africa.

The job of nurturing and mothering the young is often a thankless job but it is the most important job there is.   It isn’t a quick fix.   It takes years to raise a child.  No.  African Grandmothers can’t quit and we lucky Oliver grandmothers can’t quit either.   We need to stand together.  We see in these amazingly resilient      African grandmothers hope for healing and hope for a new generation able to care and relate to others despite the terrible trauma of their early years.

Come to Fall Frenzy and be part of the solution.   Those interested in also joining the local group will be warmly welcomed.