Education Committee ~ November 2024 Report

The Stephen Lewis Foundation and specifically the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign provides funding for a variety of partners in Sub-Sahara Africa. This month the Education and Awareness Committee would like to highlight Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS (South Africa) GAPA.

GAPA began as a result of the implementation phase of a research project at the University of Cape Town. This research project focused on the struggles of grandmothers living in an area near Cape Town and was designed to meet the needs shared by the grandmothers in the study who were impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. These grandmothers stated that the support they received in the pilot project was so helpful they did not want it to end when the project was completed.

In October 2001, grandmothers from this area formed the non-profit organization, GAPA. The goal was to help grandmothers impacted by HIV/AIDS better cope with the stresses of daily living. GAPA is now managed by a small staff, a committee made up of grandmothers and a board. GAPA receives funding from the South African government as well as a number of organizations including the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

GAPA supports the formation of business cooperatives and has integrated income generation into some of their programs. Grandmothers are taught arts and crafts, sewing and gardening skills. GAPA’s motto is “together we are stronger”. These grandmothers believe working together has had a healing impact on their emotional, physical and psychological health.

The Stephen Lewis Foundation provides funding for GAPA’s pre-school bursary program where orphans and vulnerable children are in a classroom while their grandmothers participate in support groups. Bursaries are awarded based on need and the availability of funds.
Today, over 600 seniors belong to a network of senior self-help groups. They support each other in learning more about how to maintain healthy lifestyles and learning skills that help them sustain their livelihoods.

Out of the seniors’ concern for the safety of their grandchildren, an aftercare program was started in 2008 and continues today. Over 100 children between the ages of 5-13 are cared for and fed daily.

The GAPA model has been replicated in other countries including Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho and Kenya.