• Monthly Gathering on September 21st 1:30 – 3:30 pm. Woodcliff United Church. Please arrive at the start of the gathering for drop off
• Saturday Drop off September 30th Noon to 2:00 pm. Parking Lot at Marda Loop Communities Association

Thank you to Linda at Along Came Quilting.
Sew Days are now booked for the second Wednesday of the month from September 2023 to June 2024.  Along Came Quilting opens at 10:00 AM and we need to finish up by 4:00 PM.

The format and focus will be a bit different from previous years as we work together to create products for the BB&B Sale.
The first meeting will be on Wednesday Sept 13 at 10:00 am. We will be completing a small project and discussing ideas for future Sew Days.

Space and numbers are very limited.
If you are interested in attending please send an email to message@ujamaagrandmas.com

Mona Jones has coordinated and kept the F&Y Sale running successfully for many years.  As eventually happens with all of us, we discover that other areas of interest need our help.  We will miss Mona and her wealth of knowledge about how to run a sale.  Whatever the question or need, she always had an answer.  Mona had a full-page list of jobs in many areas where we now need other people to step in and help.

Please consider any of the tasks listed below where you might be able to help.  Contact the Fabric & Yarn Steering Committee if you have other areas where you can offer assistance.
Please direct any questions to fabricsale@ujamaagrandmas.com.

Communications Lead: This position has transitioned from Phyllis McCord to Janice Lambert.
Works with donors by directing them to the most convenient storage home drop off location throughout the year.
This is a year-round position.

Secretary: This is a new position.
Records discussions, deliberations and decisions carried out at the Fabric & Yarn Steering Committee meetings. Writes the submission to the monthly newsletter. This position requires reasonable writing skills. It is a relatively quiet position throughout the year with the most time spent between February and May when the Committee is most active.

Public Drop Off Day(s) Lead: This is a new position.
Creates and manages a system for public donations at the sale venue. Will coordinate a roster of volunteers throughout the drop off days. Is responsible for organizing how donor vehicles arrive and depart, and how to move donations from donor vehicles to the sorting area. Will work with the HSE coordinator when necessary.
This position requires time for planning and setting up before and during the sale and is quiet during the rest of the year.

Health and Safety Coordinator: This is a new position.
Recruits one or more certified Emergency Basic First Aid / Basic First Aid providers to work at the Sale venue and secures safety equipment (pylons, ramps, caution tape, etc.) to make the facility as safe as possible for everyone. Coordinates with the facility and committee to address any HSE issues. This position is busy during the sort and sale days and relatively quiet the rest of the year. Requires knowledge of provincial Health and Safety regulations but does not require certification.

Storage Volunteer: Storage volunteers are badly needed again this year, as the volume of donations increases. To be a storage volunteer, you only need to have some space in your home or (secure) garage that will allow boxes and bags of fabric, yarns and notions to be stored until April. Our volunteers have spaces that range from a closet to a corner of the basement to half a garage. The Communications Lead will give the donor your contact information – usually email – and you will arrange with the donor a time to drop off their donation. We have arrangements for everything to be picked up before the sale so there is no need on your part to carry or move anything. The pre-sort group may come over once or twice during the year to sort and consolidate the donations. While this process happens year-round, you can block off times when you are not available.

The descriptions of the new positions are bare-boned as they will evolve with time and the personality of the volunteers. If you have questions, thoughts or feedback, or if you would like to contribute to one of these areas without “being in charge”, please get in touch!

Please mark your calendars!
The proposed dates for the 2024 sort and sale are Apr 27, 2024 through May 6, 2024.

Thank you, Phyllis McCord

Stories from the field at projects in Africa
The value of a long-term commitment to ending AIDS
“All of us love our jobs. It’s a really phenomenal role to be playing.” – Jenny Parsley

For two decades, Jenny Parsley has had a front-row seat to the impact of the HIV pandemic in Africa, and the life-changing, community-led response to it. As one of the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s seven field representatives, Jenny regularly travels from her home in Cape Town, South Africa, to the SLF’s partner organizations in countries across sub-Saharan Africa, acting as a liaison between Canadian staff and the work on the ground.

The SLF’s talented and committed field representatives, all activists in their own right, play a vital role in monitoring the progress and effectiveness of the organizations the SLF supports. It’s a relationship built on trust, respect, and mutual learning, says Jenny, whose training is in human rights. The SLF’s anticolonial approach to partnership is founded on the belief that communities are best equipped to provide the programs and services they need to overcome the HIV pandemic.

SLF field representatives act as mentors, consultants, and at times, cheerleaders, offering encouragement to local leaders working in challenging contexts. “We have journeyed with them through so many trying and celebratory times, and that has really been a central part of the role,” says Jenny.

For Ruth Ochieng, who brings 28 years of activism in her native Uganda to her role as a field representative, the SLF’s model is uniquely effective and sustainable. “The Stephen Lewis Foundation believes that every person has power within. And you can only use power within you to transform your life,” says Ruth. “I wish every development partner believed and trusted that these [people] know what to do.”

Unlike other international donors who might provide funds only to impose unrealistic deadlines, and end a project, the SLF “journeys with you,” says Ruth. Consistent, long-term support allows communities to innovate, she explains; innovation breeds sustainability, and with sustainability, organizations can adapt to the changing pandemic.

Jenny agrees the SLF’s commitment to long-term relationships with communities is the key to success. “When you fund for three or four or five years, it’s an absolute drop in the ocean in terms of issues that may be almost intergenerational,” adding it takes time to shift the structural underpinnings of why HIV can still take root in communities. “The long-term commitment of the Foundation is a really meaningful part of the response, and the partners really value that,” she says.

For field representative Winnie Sseruma, a longtime activist based in the U.K. who has also been living with HIV for 34 years, the SLF’s long-term support of others living positively is particularly meaningful. People deal with an HIV diagnosis very differently, says Winnie, and self-acceptance, disclosure to friends and family, and learning to live with the disease require time and patience.

“If you stop the funding, what’s going to happen to the lives of these people?” she asks. “It’s almost a life-long commitment, to be able to help individuals to transform their lives, to get where they need to go, to support not only themselves but other family members who are also impacted by HIV.”

Winnie stresses that despite the success of the SLF’s partnerships with hundreds of organizations in its 20-year history, there are always more people who need support. Many people still cannot access testing and treatment, or struggle to overcome the stigma imposed on them once diagnosed. Others are in denial about their status, and some people only remember what they learned about HIV 40 years ago. This work to end the pandemic requires a sustained effort, says Winnie, who’s made it her mission to speak openly about her diagnosis and teach others that, like her, they “are able to live near-normal lives.”