CELEBRATING SOLIDARITY

Together in Concert: Canadian grandmothers raise their voices on webcast to support grandmothers in Africa

Performer Lorraine Klaasen’s mother was the South African jazz singer Thandi Klaasen. For the virtual concert, she plans to sing Now is the Time, a song she wrote in 2013 when Nelson Mandela died.

Together in Concert is part of the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s campaign to support grandmothers in Africa

‘It’s total love, it’s a rush of magic, and it’s such a gift,” says Robin Scobie, of being a grandmother. “It’s a whole other journey than that of being a mother.”

Scobie is one of the organizers of this week’s Together in Concert: In Solidarity with African Grandmothers, a webcast celebration that marks the 15th anniversary of the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign.

The campaign involves 160 groups of grandmothers across Canada devoted to the support of fellow grandmothers in sub-Saharan Africa who are caring for children left orphaned by an HIV/ AIDS epidemic that has devastated a generation of parents.

“It’s a sisterhood, and it’s a passion for us, coast to coast,” says Scobie, who is the co-chair of VanGogos, the campaign’s Vancouver chapter. The word “gogo” is a Zulu term of respect for elders. “We’re honouring the resistance and the leadership and the strength of African grandmothers.”

The pretaped 90-minute virtual concert of music, dance, storytelling and testimonials streams on April 15 at 7:30 p.m. Performers include Jackie Richardson, Lorraine Klaasen, the National Ballet of Canada, Fredericton singer-songwriter David Myles, traditional Québécois musical trio Genticorum and Forte - Toronto Gay Men’s Chorus. Former Barenaked Ladies star Steven Page, the event’s concert director, will sing a song as well.

Speakers include representatives of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, a non-governmental organization that assists HIV/AIDSrelated grassroots projects in Africa. Registration to view the event is free and available for 72 hours after it starts. Donations are encouraged.

“We have a lofty goal of $500,000,” Scobie says.

The organization’s first gathering occurred when 200 grandmothers from Canada and half that many of their African counterparts attended the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto in August, 2006. “There was a commitment by Canadian grandmothers that we would not rest until the grandmothers in Africa could rest,” says Scobie, a grandma six times over. “We’re still here, 15 years later. The bond continues.”

Singer-actor Jackie Richardson has visited South Africa and Tanzania in “As we get older, our network of friends are drifting away. We’re losing people. But with the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, our network has multiplied. One grandmother told me she could drive to any province in Canada, knowing full well she could find a grandmother, a sister, who would put her up.

I attended a conference in Durban, South Africa. There were about 200 South African grandmothers there, but they mostly didn’t know each other. They were standing around in pockets of two or three women, unsure of what to do.

But then a magnificent African grandmother who was part of the organizing committee came into the room and started talking to people. You could see the women nodding and understanding. And then, all of a sudden, they began singing.

I realized the singing was the cleansing part. They had to sing a song just to get through the pain of what they were trying to talk about. The song was healing and uplifting. It went straight to my very core.”

I know first-hand how important the roles of grandmothers are. Mothers are dying of AIDS, and the grandmothers are raising the children. LORRAINE KLAASEN CONCERT PERFORMER

Concert performer Lorraine Klaasen’s mother was the South African jazz singer Thandi Klaasen.

“Growing up in South Africa, I had a cousin who was like a twin sister. Two of her daughters have passed away. So I know first-hand how important the roles of grandmothers are. Mothers are dying of AIDS, and the grandmothers are raising the children. The Stephen Lewis Foundation is reaching out to these grandmothers.

For the concert, I’m singing a song I wrote for Nelson Mandela. CBC in Montreal had asked me to write it in 2013 when he died. It’s called Now is the Time. It was a celebration – now was the time to see South Africa free. We see things in the long distance. But at closer look, it’s not quite what it seems to be. The situation is still difficult over there. The theme of Now is the Time was relevant then, and it’s still relevant today.”