BOOK CLUB April 2026 Selection
This month we will be discussing Beyond the Door of No Return by David Diop, translated from the French by Sam Taylor.
Diop has received numerous prizes for his work, including the Prix Goncourt in France and the International Booker Prize in the UK. Beyond the Door of No Return is the story of a French botanist in the latter half of the 18th century who travels to Senegal to study plants and finds himself overwhelmed by love for an African woman.
Friday April 17, 5:00 or 7:00pm seating at St. Michael’s Anglican Church – 709 7th Street Canmore
Hello All. This is Christine Scotland from the Mountain Grannies of the Bow Valley (Banff & Canmore). Please join us for our signature event, Chili in a Bowl.
Tickets are $50.00. They can be purchased at the Kitchen Boutique – 721 Main Street Canmore (Cash or Cheque- in person purchase and pick up only. No phoning in to hold tickets). Or, you may purchase by e-transfer mountaingrannies@gmail.com). In the Comments Section type Chili Bowl Event and which seating you are attending. Your ticket’s will be held at the door.
The chili is made by various restaurants in town (some gluten free). A glass of wine and a dessert buffet (some gluten free) are included with the dinner. Your chili is served in bowls made by several local potters. You get to take the bowl you choose home with you!
This event sells out every year – all ready the 5 PM sitting is getting full. Don’t hesitate, join us for a fun evening. Wishing everyone successful events for 2026
WHAT ON EARTH IS A GRL? Well, in the world of Stephen Lewis Foundation grandmother groups across Canada, of which there are now 125, GRL means Group Regional Liaison. The national body thought it would be helpful to have a couple of people in each province to keep in touch with the various groups, help them stay in touch, problem solve, share information, etc.
Now in Alberta there are 2 GRLS, one in Edmonton covering 2 groups, and recently me taking over Southern Alberta from Judy Howe, communicating with 6 groups. The groups are:
Red Deer: Gramma Link Africa
Canmore: Mountain Grannies of the Bow Valley
Carstairs: Grandmothers for Grandmothers Mountainview Calgary: Ujamaa Grandmas
Medicine Hat: Hat Grannies for Africa
Lethbridge: Harambee Grandmas
News From SLF Grandmothers Campaign:
Members are very much encouraged to sign up for the online Granny Bulletin which is sent out from the SLF Grandmothers campaign three times a year. How? Google grandmotherscampaign.org, then scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find a place to enter your information. No obligation; you receive interesting articles plus you can access the Members only site (password Ubuntu) which has information on Beds without Breakfast across country, AV resources, information for treasurers, group activities and more.
The site also has information on the upcoming 20th anniversary Gathering in Ottawa Oct. 5-7, 2026. They are presently attempting to get an idea of numbers who will be attending. Questions? Contact me at message@ujamaagrandmas.com
Thanks, Anne Taylor
On July 30, 2025, it was announced that the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) was one of 13 leading Canadian humanitarian organizations to receive $1M each to address devastating impacts of U.S. international funding cuts.
The Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) received $1 million in emergency support from The Slaight Family Foundation to help mitigate the impacts of the Trump administration’s abrupt cuts to international aid directed to the global HIV response.
“The funding losses are threatening the progress that has been made in ending AIDS,” says Meg French, SLF executive director. “The devastating cuts to U.S. global health and HIV funding have sent shockwaves through the sector. Life-saving programs led by community organizations are in jeopardy. We are immensely grateful for The Slaight Family Foundation’s emergency funding, which will help sustain nine community-led organizations that provide vital HIV-related services across eastern and southern Africa.”
This emergency grant will allow SLF partner organizations in Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe to continue delivering critical services, including education and sexual health and rights programming for adolescent girls, support for survivors of gender- based violence, and critical staffing and mental health supports for frontline workers in communities impacted by HIV.
All SLF partners are impacted by international funding cuts, either through the loss of direct funding, or due to substantially increased demand for their services resulting from the closure of services by other organizations in their communities, especially those that uphold the rights and health of women and girls. The cuts have exposed the fragility of current funding systems and underscore the need for a bold, collective response that puts communities, not politics, at the centre of the HIV response.
“We hope this funding will help sustain access to health care, food, education and protection for the world’s most vulnerable,” said Gary Slaight, President and CEO of The Slaight Family Foundation.
rganizations as they leverage their lived experience as champions of change.
Education and Awareness Committee (Judy, Charmaine and Susan)
Not just fabulous fabric and yummy yarn, but also paper patterns and books, a multitude of sewing machines, a plethora of notions, a multitude of crafting supplies, fabric for a home makeover are for sale. There is something for everyone. Come join us and help support Ujamaa Grandmas. Please support us by printing and sharing the attached poster with friends and neighbours.
May 1, 2026 10:30 am – 6 pm
Eventbrite tickets ($5 each) required.
To buy your tickets use this Eventbrite link
Sat, May 2, 2026 10:30 a. – 5 .m
$2 admission per person charged at checkout
Sun, May 3, 2026 10:30 am – 2 pm
$2 admission per person charged at checkout
There are still Volunteer roles available during Set Up Days (April 25 – 30) include accepting and sorting donations, helping at the volunteer desk, setting up sale areas (home decor, yarn, books/patterns, hardware, notions, crafts, specialty fabrics, general fabrics, quilting) and more. Volunteer roles on Sale Days (May 1 -3) include sellers in each of the areas, traffic controllers, volunteer and charity management and more.
You will find the SignUp link here
It’s Easy – you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password. Note: SignUp does not share your email address with anyone. Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you’d like. Please read the brief volunteer position descriptions so you choose the role that is the best fit for you. Signing up will include agreeing to our Waiver, so please read this carefully. Come join the fun!
Download and share these posters.
Art Sale Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18
We are indebted to The Rotary Club whose volunteers drive two large moving trucks to every storage home to pick up donations and deliver them to the Garrison Curling rink before the Fabric & Yarn Sale. We would be hard pressed to accomplish this without their cheerful support. And we are happy to support them in turn.
The Second Chance Art Sale is a huge sale of donated art and is a major fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Calgary Heritage Park. Funds raised support Rotary initiatives such as skills training for vulnerable youth, classroom equipment for under-resourced local schools, scholarships for women conquering addiction, hospice furniture and clean water in rural Nigeria.
Please help us support them by going to their sale at the Acadia Rec Complex on Friday, April 17 from 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM and Saturday, April 18 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
BOOK CLUB February 2026 Selection
Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom brilliantly re-creates the drama of the experiences that helped shape Nelson Mandela’s destiny. It is emotive, compelling, and uplifting– the exhilarating story of an epic life; a story of hardship. resilience and ultimate triumph told with the clarity and eloquence of a born leader.
In March Alberta Theatre Projects (ATP) is performing Casey and Diana. The play tells the true story of Princess Diana’s historic 1991 visit to Casey House, Toronto’s first AIDS hospice, during the height of the AIDS crisis.
Ujamaa Grandmas are hosting an information table at this event for several matinee and evening performances to boost our profile and introduce us to a new audience. Two grandmothers will be in attendance at these performances before the show and during the intermission. We have to purchase our own seats for these shows at a reduced rate.
We only need 2 more volunteers for the evening show on Saturday March 14 7:30pm. Tickets need to be purchased close to an exit.
For more info email message@ujamaagrandmas.com attention Judy Howe.
An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma will be our first book of the new year.
A heartbreaking story about a Nigerian poultry farmer who sacrifices everything to win the woman he loves. Here is a link to a review from The Guardian guardian.com/books/2019/jan/15/an-orchestra-of-minorities-chigozie-obioma-review
A Girl is a Body of Water by Jennifer Nanasubuga Makumbi, is a coming-of-age story set in 1970s Uganda.
Here is a link to a very positive review of the book from the New York Times.
The Missing American by Kwei Quartey is a detective novel that takes place in Ghana and features a young woman detective.
The book was shortlisted for the Edgar Allen Poe First Novel award In 2020. We previously read Wife of the Gods by the same author and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Africa Book Club meets every six weeks to discuss a book about Africa. We read both fiction and non-fiction, primarily books by modern African writers (although we have also read some classics and some books by people who spent time in Africa).
New members are always welcome. For more information, contact us at message@ujamaagrandmas.com
Americanah, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, is written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, a wonderful writer whose novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, we enjoyed a couple of years ago.
This is a modern classic about star-crossed lovers that explores questions of race and being Black in America—and the search for what it means to call a place home.
We are in the process of settling on an August date that works best for all, so please contact message@ujamaagrandmas.com Attn: Africa Book Club if you are interested in attending or would like more information on the book club.
The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa’s Racial Reckoning by Eve Fairbanks is a non-fiction book (we alternate fiction a non-fiction) and winner of the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction.
A dozen years in the making, The Inheritors weaves together the stories of three ordinary South Africans over five tumultuous decades in a sweeping and exquisite look at what really happens when a country resolves to end white supremacy.
We chose this book because our discussion last month of the classic novel, Cry the Beloved Country made us wonder what South Africa is like almost seventy years later.
BOOK CLUB March 2025 Selection
The Color Bar by Susan Williams tells the fascinating story of Seretse Khama, born into a royal family in what was then Bechuanaland, a British protectorate. He attended university in the UK and fell in love with and married a British woman, but when the time came for them to return to Africa, the South African government pressured the British government to prevent him from returning to his home. It was only several years later that the couple were allowed to return. Khama eventually became Prime Minister and later President of what became the independent country of Botswana.
BOOK CLUB February 2025 Selection
Ghost Season by Fatin Abbas from Sudan, is a sweeping history of the breakup of Sudan and takes you to Saraaya, a fictional town rich with crude oil, located at the border of Sudan and South Sudan.
Abbas was born in Khartoum where she experienced the upheaval of the 1989 coup that forced her family to move to New York City. But, her ties to Sudan remained strong, and she drew from these experiences, particularly her time in the town of Abyei, in crafting the world of Saraaya, a place of quiet mystery and tension. into the lives of five strangers in an NGO compound on the border between Sudan and South Sudan.
This novel is a “gripping, vivid debut that announces Abbas as a powerful new voice in fiction”.
BOOK CLUB January 2025 Selection
BOOK CLUB November 2024 Selection
The History of a Difficult Child by Mihret Sibhat is a novel about a young girl growing up during turbulent times in a small town in Ethiopia in the 1980s. The narrator is ten years old by the end of the story and according to one reviewer, is “a magnificent guide to this ancient and enduring culture.” (New York Review of Books).
Our club welcomes new members. We meet approximately every six weeks and generally alternate between fiction and non-fiction books written about Africa, primarily although not exclusively by African authors.
For more information or to join us, write tomessage@ujamaagrandmas.com and we will get back to you.
Born a Crime: Stories of a South African Childhood, by Trevor Noah is a memoir of growing up as a mixed-race person in South Africa.
Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.This promises to be an enlightening read that is also very funny.
