Grandmothers of Quesnel have been supporting the grandmothers of Africa for almost two decades. A special event on March 23 wraps around that history like a warm blanket.
The community is invited to come see a commemorative quilt created by hand, out of solidarity with a special generation of maternal leaders in sub-Saharan Africa, recognized and supported by maternal leaders in the countries of Canada (where it started), United States, England and Australia.
The quilt’s title is Nurturing Generations Under The Canopy of Sisterhood and it is a tactile - and textile - initiative of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary connecting communities of the wealthy west with economically and AIDS/HIV-ravaged Africa. When that disease (and other factors compounded by poverty) killed or displaced entire communities of parents, it was a groundswell of grandmothers who stepped in to support the children and the local economies left behind.
“In Canada, we raise money for them, and the African grandmothers develop the projects they want and we help fund them,” said Lynne Wright, a volunteer for Quesnel’s Gold Pan Grannies, a group dedicated to helping the Grandmother To Grandmother Campaign in support of Africa.
“There is a group of 15-20 of us and we do four or five activities a year to fundraise,” said Wright. “We have a great time doing it, and it’s just such a worthwhile cause that we don’t have any trouble getting community support for the things we’re doing. Everything we do is for the Stephen Lewis Foundation.”
The quilt is on national tour and Quesnel is its final destination in B.C. before heading next to Ontario. Admission to see it is free, with donation opportunities available, like the sale of refreshments at the event, and the sale of some other fundraising items all to bolster the totals from the Cariboo.
Applying to get the quilt here was, in part, a thank-you from the Gold Pan Grannies to the Quesnel community for the 2007-23 fundraising total of $81,000 and growing. “Isn’t that impressive? And all of it community based,” Wright said.
More than 300 grandmothers in five African countries and most Canadian provinces collaborated on the construction of the quilt, so it is a physical representation of work, help, collaboration, and shared vision as well as being a compelling piece of art.
“The image is a tree, with a woman’s figure in the trunk and her legs turn into the roots of the tree. It’s a lovely quilt. It is quite incredible,” said Wright who went to see it while it was on display in Prince George earlier in the tour.
When she thinks about why the public gravitates so naturally to see commemorative quilts, she mused, “I think it’s probably because there is a lot of artistic merit to them, and the fact they are made from textiles and everyday materials that are available to everyone, and it gets turned into something incredible. That’s part of the fascination.”
The hope of the Gold Pan Grannies is that the quilt eventually gets stationed in a permanent display facility like the Museum Of Human Rights in Winnipeg.
But first, it will be at the United Church Hall in Quesnel on Mar. 23 from 1-4 p.m., with a special presentation at 2 p.m.
“Never underestimate what an old woman can do,” said Wright, cheerily but stoutly. “And in Africa, the grandmothers are the ones who have picked up the burden and carried communities and families forward. That’s why our funding is so important, because it enables them to carry on that work.”
READ MORE: Quesnel’s Gold Pan Grannies help the Stephen Lewis Foundation carry out their good work
READ MORE: Mayor Mary Sjostrom presents Stephen Lewis with one of the Gold Pan Grannies’ granny angels