Spotlight: African grandmothers bring stigma to Toronto
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AIDS
HDN
Key Correspondent Team
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They came from far and wide. They came by foot, by train and finally
by plane. Over 300 grandmothers from 10 African countries, came to
meet their Canadian counterparts to share their stories of grief and
pain over the loss of their children to the HIV epidemic.

In a unique meeting organised by the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF)
in Toronto, a few days prior to the opening of the 16th
International AIDS Conference, African grandmothers broke their
silence over how stigma and discrimination undermines their efforts to
hold families together and care for orphaned children.

"To be honest, I don't know whether my children have the HIV
infection or not. There is so much stigma attached to `the
condition', as it is called in my country, that my children are
afraid to know their status," says Joyce Kajechi Gichuana from
Nairobi,Kenya.

The soft-spoken, petite 63-year-old mother of three has six
grandchildren of her own and has adopted six other children orphaned
by the HIV epidemic in Kasarani district, in Nairobi, Kenya. Three of
these children are HIV positive. "These children are doubly burdened.
Not only are they orphans, but they also face stigma and
discrimination [associated with HIV]. If they get love and compassion
I know they will be able to overcome it."

Joyce is not the only one. Whether it is Martha Nduhi of Kenya, Leah
Motlalepulc of South Africa, or Antonia Igres from Tanzania, their
stories are strikingly similar.

While statistics on the pandemic's effect on grandmothers are scarce,
approximately 13 million children in sub-Saharan Africa have been
orphaned by AIDS – a higher number than the total of every child
under-18 in Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Ireland combined. 40
to 60 per cent of these orphans live in grandmother-headed households.

But how many people are aware of these statistics? More importantly,
how many really care? Stephen Lewis, the United Nations Secretary-
General's special envoy for HIV and AIDS in Africa, realised that
unless people living outside Africa experienced the emotional
battering that he felt when he saw the bodies of people who had died
of AIDS related illnesses, being abandoned in the morgue by their
families would they be unable to understand the trauma of HIV-related
stigma.

The meeting between the African and Canadian grandmothers was a step
towards bridging this gap. "Grandmothers have stepped forward to care
for millions of children orphaned by AIDS. They have displayed the
courage to overcome their own feelings of helplessness and emotional
stress compounded by the stigma surrounding HIV. As caregivers, many
of them face discrimination, which makes finding support that
much harder. We wanted this meeting to help build a bond of
solidarity between the grandmothers and let the African grandmothers
know that they were not alone in their grief," says Stephan Lewis.

But even Lewis did not anticipate the overwhelming support the
African grandmothers received from their Canadian counterparts during
their two-day meeting. The age-old African ways of speaking without
words broke down all communications barriers. They sang and danced,
laughed and wept together. "We were afraid that language barriers
would separate us, and our capacity to help might be reduced to
fundraising alone. This meeting has broken all barriers. Although
I was aware of their problems, I had never got involved in doing
something about it. This meeting has given me an opportunity to act
as their voice so that I can share their stories and raise awareness
about HIV within my community. I believe that awareness can reduce
the stigma surrounding the epidemic," contends Jo-Anna Page, a 63
year-old Canadian grandmother.

While exchanges like this help in understanding HIV stigma and
discrimination, it will need more than just one meeting to challenge
the myths and misconceptions that continue to perpetuate
discrimination against people living with HIV (PLHIV). There has to
be a sustained multi-pronged effort by non-government organisations
like the SLF. But more importantly, there has to be greater political
will. Unless national governments demonstrate that they care for
every person infected by HIV by implementing laws that reduce stigma
and discrimination against PLHIV, it is unlikely that the children of
Joyce Gichuana, will ever want to know their status.

Swapna Majumdar
HDN Key Correspondent, India
Email: correspondents@...
Website: www.healthdev.org/kc