Heather Keith at the African Grandmothers' Gathering. (Stephen Lewis Foundation)

The gathering is over. The Canadian grandmothers are going home, but our work is just beginning.

We 43 Canadian grandmothers who attended the gathering with 500 African grandmothers from 12 countries, who marched with close to 2,000 others in Swaziland, are tired, exhilarated and anxious to take our stories back to Canada.

The Canadian grandmothers came from every part of Canada (with the exception of Newfoundland and the Northwest Territories). They held hands with, sang with and cried with their African sisters over three days.

It is hard to distill our thoughts and emotions into manageable pieces.

Shall we mention the night we arrived in Manzini, Swaziland, and our excitement at meeting African grandmothers at our lovely hotel? Not all grandmothers spoke English, but they were accompanied by translators and were oh, so happy to greet us and thank us for what we have done so far.
But as we learned, it is not nearly enough.

Or, shall I tell you about Siphiwe Hlope, the bulldog of a woman and AIDS activist who dreamed a dream of an international meeting of grandmothers in the Kingdom of Swaziland, population one million, and pulled it off spectacularly?

Or, how about the banquet with the Queen Mother? The police band struck up some tunes and we all danced, African grandmothers and Canadian grandmothers in a conga line. Then, in a totally unexpected move, the Queen Mother joined us all on the dance floor.

And what of the workshops where Canadian grandmothers recorded what they heard from African grandmothers and project workers? We learned of table credit and sack gardens that are making life a whole lot better for a whole lot of African grandmothers. We talked to women from Zimbabwe who told us that if they buy something in the morning, the price has gone up by the afternoon.

I talked to a 78-year-old woman caring for two grandchildren -- who has just taken on another grandmother and her four grandchildren.
When we asked African grandmothers for their most urgent need, they said: Money and food.  

Money pays school fees. School is free in Grades 1 and 2, but the fees are a horrendous burden after that. There are not enough teachers -- so many have died as a result of AIDS -- and there are over 100 children in a classroom.

Food is a constant problem. Many grandmothers are so busy caring for the sick and their children that they cannot till their gardens.  

The list of problems seems endless but these women are taking them on.
I can't wait to get home and tell my grandchildren how lucky they are to live in Canada and how important it is to help Africa turn the tide on the AIDS pandemic. I can't wait to tell our politicians that the time has come to ante up and keep the promises they made years ago.  

I am tired and overwhelmed, but my sister grandmothers have burdens much greater than mine to bear. We all must help them.