Ilana Landsberg-Lewis inspires grandmothers groups in Verona

Oct 01, 2014

Ilana Landsberg-Lewis, the daughter of Stephen Lewis and co-founder and executive director of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, inspired listeners at an information session that took place at Trinity United church in Verona on September 27. She was joined by Graham Coultas, director of the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, which since its inception in 2006 has seen more than 240 grandmother groups form across the country. New groups are still forming all over the world and fundraising efforts to date have reached $21 million. The money has gone directly to grassroots organizations run by and for African grandmothers, who have been left to single handedly support and care for millions of African children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The Verona event attracted members from the local Grandmothers-by-the-Lake chapter as well as members from grandmothers groups in Belleville, Kingston, and Quinte. Landsberg-Lewis, who is a labour and human rights lawyer and who actively advocates for the rights of women, is someone who understands first hand the challenges facing African grandmother groups. Her in-depth understanding stems in part from her eight years working at the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) where she worked as an advisor for the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). She has traveled the world assisting grassroots women’s groups to stop female genital mutilation as well as other forms of violence and discrimination.

The session in Verona included the screening of a new film put out by the Stephen Lewis Foundation titled “African Grandmothers Tribunal; Seeking Justice at the Frontlines of the AIDS Crisis”. The documentary was made at a tribunal, which took place in British Columbia in September 2013, and where six African grandmothers spoke of the specific challenges that face them. The film has been shown to three Canadian grandmothers groups and next month will be made available from the SLF as part of the kit so that other grandmothers groups worldwide can see first hand the importance of the fundraising work they do. The information gleaned from the tribunal was made into a special report that says, “It’s time to recognize that African grandmothers at the forefront of the HIV and AIDS crisis must have their human rights respected and protected.”

At her talk in Verona, Landsberg-Lewis highlighted how far the African grandmothers have come in just eight years as well the shift that is now taking place in their fight. “There is a new dimension of the work that is unfolding right now. The African grandmothers are beginning to work and advocate for their own human rights while continuing to care for the orphans and trying to sustain the communities that support them”, she said.

She also said that on the one hand, while so much has been achieved in the last eight years, there is not only an excitement but also a legitimate fear at this time. “The fear is that just at the moment when things are beginning to turn around, the international community will walk away too soon and the betrayal of Africa will continue and deepen. That would be a tragedy of epic proportions given how much these African grandmothers and their communities have not only risen to that challenge, but have transcended it beyond belief.”

Landsberg-Lewis became visibly moved during her talk and later explained, “On the one hand you feel outrage at the injustice of it all but on the other hand it is also very moving to watch the triumph of the human spirit over such adversity in this way. It's very, very powerful.”

Adele Colby, chair of Grandmothers-by-the-Lake group, was thrilled to host Landberg-Lewis in Verona. “Getting her here was a coup. She is the heart and soul of the Grandmothers’ Campaign and is the one who has all the knowledge and also feels so passionately about it.”

I will leave the last word here with the African grandmothers themselves who addressed the 2103 Tribunal in Vancouver. Only they can say best what exactly they want and need in their fight to sustain the millions of orphaned children in their care and the communities that support them. The following is a excerpt from the report as given on the website of the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

“It’s time to support our organizations fully, and put systems in place to address our needs and the needs of the children in our care....It’s time to recognize our contribution to the survival of our communities, and the expertise we have developed to do so, by giving us our rightful place and voice wherever decisions are being made. We will not let the AIDS pandemic defeat us, nor destroy our communities, but we cannot prevail alone.”

To find out more and/or to see a trailer for the film, visit www.stephenlewisfoundation.org and www.grandmotherscampaign.org