Author Archives: SPIDER WOMAN

Fabric & Yarn Sale Volunteer Opportunities

Wow, it is only about 60 days until we start setting up the 2024 Fabric & Yarn Sale.
We have been working hard on sorting and organizing but there is still lots to do.

Dates to Remember:
3 Public Donation Drop Off Days at Garrison Curling Club
Saturday April 27:       1:00 to 4:00
Tuesday April 30:      11:00 to 4:00
Wednesday May 1:   11:00 to 4:00

Set up Days are Monday April 29 to Thursday May 2
Sale Days are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 3 – 5.  Starting at 10:30 AM

The first 2024 Committee Meeting was held in January.  Sign up for volunteers for the set up and sale days will be happening starting the beginning of April but there are 2 major areas where we need lead volunteers immediately.  Interested persons will need to be available  to attend the February Committee Meeting on Tuesday Feb 13th starting at 1:30 at Signal Hill Library.
Please contact Dawn Bolger via fabricsale@ujamaagrandmas.com  to get more information.

  1. Machines and Hard Goods need a lead person.  This is where sewing machines and all sorts of non-fabric, yarn, crafts or notions items come in to be organized for the sale.  We never know what exactly might be donated.  It is a treasure hunt waiting to be organized, researched (how much is that item worth??) and enjoyed.  A knowledge of machines is useful.
  2. We also need a few volunteers for Patterns and Books  to help us rethink our area and do some sorting during the next few months. This does not obligate you to be there during the sale or pre-sale days. Please send Phyllis an email at fabricsale@ujamaagrandmas.com with ideas or contact information.

We are working together and having fun but we need as many volunteers as possible to help make the sale successful.
Thank you for all your support and if you have any questions, please contact Dawn at the email provided above.

S.AB Liaison to Stephen Lewis Foundation – March 2024 Report


The SLF is starting to plan a trip to Africa for grandmothers. It will be this October or next spring. Anyone who went on the last trip is asked to contact Megan if they have any memories of costs incurred. They are also looking for previous members of the Speakers Bureau as they are updating the package.

Idah is living in Canada for 2 years as she is taking a Master’s degree at the University of Waterloo. Her visa finally came through.

Giving to the SLF is following the national trend and has reduced. Domestic funding has increased over overseas funding. The SLF are working hard to keep up funding.
The gathering committee has formed and we are working hard to bring an interesting and exciting event in September.
No more news from me. Happy Spring!

Judy Howe

Tickets on Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/tribute-to-gordon-lightfoot-tickets-805769938577

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Education Committee ~ March 2024 Report

Reflections of a new member

A friend, Joyce Goddard, tried for 20 years to convince me to join the Ujamaa Grandmas. I resisted for, I thought, good reasons: I was not a grandma, my sewing skills were not good enough, and I was too busy with active outdoor activities.

Last spring, Joyce asked me to drive her to a meeting.  Of course, I went in with her. Immediately I was impressed by the warm, welcoming atmosphere. Everyone was so glad to see each other and reconnect.

Then we went into the meeting where committee members reported on their groups activities and the need to have help with tasks that did not require lifting a needle. They needed help with collecting, storing, pricing, etc. etc. I could do those things. There was a group raising funds by participating in outdoor activities. The Education and Awareness Committee needed speakers. There were roles for me.

I was impressed by the reminder that the prime reason for all the activities was to raise the funds necessary to support the wonderful work done by the African Grandmothers. I am proud to be a member.

Submitted by Barb Spear 

Burger’s Daughter

BOOK CLUB March  2024 Selection

Burger’s Daughter by Nadine Gordimer (winner  of the Nobel Prize for Literature) was published in 1979. This novel is modelled after real people involved in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.

This is the moving story of the unforgettable Rosa Burger, a young woman from South Africa cast in the mold of a revolutionary tradition. Rosa tries to uphold her heritage handed on by martyred parents while still carving out a sense of self. Although it is wholly of today, Burger’s Daughter can be compared to those 19th century Russian classics that make a certain time and place come alive, and yet stand as universal celebrations of the human spirit.

Most of our books to date have been written by contemporary young, black African authors and we thought it would be interesting to go back to this earlier period in history.

AGM – Board Positions Open in May 2024

As mentioned in more details in the January E-News, we have a few Board Members stepping down as their terms are up in 2024.  The board is really just another committee that keeps Ujamaa Grandmas functioning as a non-profit throughout the year. The essential work done by our board members means we maintain our status as a not-for-profit entity in Alberta.  Members usually sign on for two years, but that is flexible.  Board members attend monthly Zoom meetings where information is shared and everyone works together to support each and every endeavor Ujamaa engages in.

Secretary Annette Koelwyn – no shorthand required.

Communications Coordinator Janice Lambert – monitors the email inbox and forwards them to the various committees, assembles their write-ups for the monthly newsletter, coordinates with the webmaster to update the UG website.  General computer skills are needed.
General Directors (1-2 people) – may act as a liaison to other committees or take a turn facilitating a monthly gathering.
You may have the interest and skills that would be a huge benefit to the workings of Ujamaa.  You may know someone – a family member, friends, or fellow member who could fill one of these roles.
If you are curious, interested or have any questions, I encourage you to start a conversation.  Please contact me through message@ujamaagrandmas.com ATTN Carla.
And a sincere thank you to all of you for all you do.
For the Board of Directors Nominating Committee
Carla Lorfing, Vice-Chair

What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours

BOOK CLUB January  2024 Selection


 What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi is a collection of short stories and is cleverly built around the idea of keys, literal and metaphorical. The key to a house, the key to a heart, the key to a secret—Oyeyemi’s keys not only unlock elements of her characters’ lives, they promise further labyrinths on the other side.
Oyeyemi’s tales span multiple times and landscapes as they tease boundaries between coexisting realities. Is a key a gate, a gift, or an invitation?

Things Fall Apart

BOOK CLUB September 2023 Selection

Things Fall Apart by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, was written in 1958 and is considered a classic in African literature and has inspired many African authors of today.
THINGS FALL APART tells two overlapping, intertwining stories, both of which center around Okonkwo, a “strong man” of an Ibo village in Nigeria.
The first  storiy traces Okonkwo’s fall from grace with the tribal world in which he lives, and in its classical purity of line and economical beauty it provides us with a powerful fable about the immemorial conflict between the individual and society.
The second story is as modern as the first is ancient, and elevates the book to a tragic plane,
 These twin dramas are perfectly harmonized, and they are modulated by an awareness capable of encompassing at once the life of nature, human history, and the mysterious compulsions of the soul.

Toufah: The Woman who Inspired an African #MeToo Movement

BOOK CLUB July 2023 Selection
An incandescent and inspiring memoir from a courageous young woman who, after she was forced to flee to Canada from her home in The Gambia, became the first woman to publicly call the country’s dictator to account for sexual assault—launching an unprecedented protest movement in West Africa.
Join us to share this powerful story. Toufah: The Woman who Inspired an African #MeToo Movement by Toufah Jallow with Kim Pittaway.

I Am a Girl From Africa

BOOK CLUB June 2023 Selection

Eizabeth Nyamayaro is from Zimbabwe. At the age of 8, she nearly died of starvation during a famine. Her rescue by a United Nations aid worker inspired her with a dream to work for the UN. This memoir recounts her early life in a small village and her career working for a variety of causes at the UN, including HIV/AIDS, child marriage, domestic violence, and women’t rights. It is an inspirational read.

Glory

BOOK CLUB May 2023 Selection

Glory is a new book from NoViolet Bulawayo, the award-winning author of the Booker-prize finalist We Need New Names.
NoViolet Bulawayo’s bold new novel follows the fall of the Old Horse, the long-serving leader of a fictional country, and the drama that follows for a rumbustious nation of animals on the path to true liberation.

Powered By Love

BOOK CLUB April 2023 Selection

Powered by Love is  the book written for the Stephen Lewis Foundation by Joanna Henry and Ilana Landsberg-Lewis. Many of us have this book but we thought it would be interesting to read it from cover to cover (instead of using it as a reference) and talk about it together.

How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

BOOK CLUB February 2023 Selection

On February 24, we will be discussing the novel “How Beautiful We Were” by Cameroonian-American author Imbolo Mbue.

This book is about a fictional African village that is suffering from pollution and environmental degradation caused by an American oil company, and how they decided to fight back. We have also read Mbue’s previous novel, Behold the Dreamers, and loved it.

Unbowed by Wangari Maathai

BOOK CLUB January 2023 Selection

This month we will be  discussing Unbowed,  a memoir by Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for her environmental and social justice work.

We are looking forward to what promises to be an inspirational life story.

This is a remarkable memoir of courage, faith, and the power of persistence; about one woman’s extraodinary journey from her childhood in rural Kenya to the world stage. “[Maathai’s] story provides uplifting proof of the power of perseverance–and of the power of principled, passionate people to change their countries and inspire the world.”

Behold the Dreamers 

BOOK CLUB November 2022 Selection

 Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue tells the  tale of a young couple from Cameroon who come to the US in search of a better life.Their precarious legal status makes their lives very difficult. Interestingly, the author portrays the struggles of their wealthy employer at the time of the 2008 stock market crash as well, and  in an empathetic manner. It’s a novel that’s hard to put down, so you would still have time to read it by November 11 if you’d like to join us! New members are always welcome. Just write to message@ujamaagrandmas.doc and we’ll send you the Zoom link.

Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey

BOOK CLUB September 2022 Selection

Kwei Quartey is a Ghanaian author of detective fiction who has written a couple of series featuring two different detectives. We thought this might be a nice change from the ‘heavier’ books we have been reading, good and important as they are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first book will likely be a quick read and so we will also read Alexandra Fuller’s “Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness”, a beautifully written memoir by a white author who grew up in Africa.

New members are always welcome. If you are interested, write to message@ujamaagrandmas.com – attention Book Club

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo of Zimbabwe

BOOK CLUB July 2022 Selection

The main character of the novel is Darling, a 10-year old girl who at the beginning of the story hangs around with her gang of friends in a shanty town called Paradise. Later she goes to live with an aunt in Detroit, Michigan, and comes face to face with the reality of America, about which she had only dreamed. In a review from NPR in 2013, Ellah Allfrey writes, “In Bulawayo’s steady hands, what could be a tale of woe becomes a story of resilience.” We look forward to reading this novel and continuing our journey towards better understanding African people, their challenges and their strengths.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adich

BOOK CLUB May 2022 Selection.

The novel takes place in Nigeria prior to and during the Nigerian Civil War (1967–70). It follows five main characters, including the twin daughters of an influential businessman, a professor, a British expat, and a Nigerian houseboy. After Biafra’s declaration of secession, the lives of the main characters drastically change and are torn apart by the brutality of the civil war and decisions in their personal lives.

The book was published in 2006 and has been on many “best books” lists.

The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia

BOOK CLUB April 22 Selection.

This novel was long-listed for the 2021 Giller Prize, as the author, originally from Nigeria, is now a Canadian.

The story is a tale of two women from different circumstances who become friends, and then are thrown together during a kidnapping, during which they tell each other their life stories.  The book is a quick read and is a fascinating account of culture and traditions in Nigeria, particularly as they affect the lives of women.