Laurie and Bonnie's blog

VG4A members Laurie and Bonnie are travelling with 14 other members of the Grandmothers Campaign and SLF staff to South Africa and Eswatini. Click the link above to follow a blog of their stories and adventures, and read about the people and groups they meet.

The Stephen Lewis Foundation surveyed our partners in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.    Its findings are devastating.  Read the full report  

WHO WE ARE

Victoria Grandmothers for Africa

We raise funds and awareness for the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. We're proud to have raised over $2 million since 2006.

Through the Grandmothers Campaign, we partner with community-led organizations in Africa where grandmothers care for grandchildren whose parents died as a result of the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

See how we work HERE

Find out how to join HERE

WHO OUR PARTNERS ARE

The Musasa Project has been working to end gender-based violence in Zimbabwe for over 35 years. The community-led organization provides direct support to survivors, raises awareness about gender-based violence, trains law enforcement to respond appropriately, and advocates for policies and legislation that protect women. They have made immeasurable impact over the years. They operate 14 women’s shelters across urban and rural areas and mobile centres that provide essential education, reaching even the most remote communities. Musasa was instrumental in the passage of Zimbabwe’s Domestic Violence Act in 2007. They also played a key role in raising the minimum age of marriage to 18 years old and introducing mandatory minimum prison sentences for rape.  

To read more about how the SLF funding contributes continue here.

More stories from Africa are HERE

Jazzy Junk

from

Granny's Trunk

VG4A held our second Jazzy Junk from Granny's Trunk sale Saturday April 26 as a fundraiser for the Stephen Lewis Foundation. 

"The SLF is facing the greatest crisis since the nightmare days of the spread of AIDS in the 1990s and 2000s. I refuse to dissemble or beat around the bush. With the suspension and cutbacks of foreign aid, the Trump administration’s unhinged and random destructive acts put countless numbers of our projects in Africa, and the people they serve, at risk.

The uncertainty, the ambiguity, the wilful chaos have resulted in fear and confusion on the ground. As our Executive Director, Meg French, has said: “Lives will be lost.” Our best contribution at this perilous moment is to attempt to replace the resources that Trump has expunged. Please give what you are able."

— Stephen Lewis, SLF Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Board and former UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa

#AIDS once wiped out an entire generation, and now with the ruthless execution of U.S. executive orders, once more, we are condemning people to die.

Will you make a gift to respond to the emergency facing our partners and the people they serve?   In this moment of crisis, please support the Stephen Lewis Foundation through

this link    __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________    

Latest news about the disastrous, inhumane USAID cuts:

CHEK News “People Are Going to Die”

Science  "A Bloodbath: HIV Field is Reeling"

Vic News. "They've Abandoned Africa" 

NYT "US Terminates Funding for Polio, HIV, Malaria and Nutrition"

SLF FAQ's.  Frequently Asked Questions about the Crisis

CBC News Crisis in Kenya

Guardian Mar 5. Supreme Court rejects Trump's ... Foreign Aid Freeze

UN AIDS:  a weekly report on effects of cuts

CBC The Current Doctors Without Borders comment on impact of cuts

General Meeting

April 5, 2025

We had two guest presenters at our April 5 meeting -Theresa Randles from Grandmothers of Steel in Hamilton and  Anne Young from GRAN National. 

Find photos by Jane Player on the MEMBERS ONLY page

The meeting covered a lot of ground, starting with acknowledging the preferred name for the Esquimalt Nation - Xwsepsum (sometimes spelled Kosapsum). Along with our guest speakers, introductions of new members, and business items, we had a musical thank-you and goodbye to Barb Joliffe, one of VG4A's Strumming Grannies.