The Nyanyas of Niagara recently held a Treats and Chatter tea, organized to thank members for all they have accomplished in the past and for their continuing support in the future.
Nyanya Pat Hicks “offered her beautiful home for the event,” said member Linda Carleton, and “delicious treats" were supplied by Stacey MacIntyre of the Cake Cafe in Virgil. The cake artist, “also multi-talented, spoke about her business endeavours and her love for NOTL,” she added.
Nyanyas of Niagara was created in 2007 and is one of more than 240 grandmother groups across Canada raising money for the Stephen Lewis Foundation's Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign. Since their group’s inception, the Nyanyas have raised $124,334 for the foundation, adding to a total of more than $21 million raised to provide food, housing, school fees, grief counselling and more to grandmothers and their grandchildren in 15 sub-Saharan African countries, supporting women and girls through grassroots organizations in their communities.
Sandra Hardy, a member of the Nyanyas steering committee and a founding member of the group, offered official words of thanks to the members.
When funds are placed directly in the hands of these tenacious, determined grandmothers, she said, “they are revitalizing their communities. They are calling out inequities, demanding action, and supporting one another. Because they have a dream.”
Their dream is for a future “where girls are educated, which means they will postpone marriage, raise smaller families, and have healthier children. They will be able to earn a living and participate in political processes. And they won’t contract HIV. These grandmothers are doing a spectacular job managing their households so that the next generation will thrive,” she said, thanking “each and every” Nyanya for their ongoing support.
