Skip to content

Red Deer group walking to raise money for African grandmothers

A group of central Albertans will be walking every day until the end of June to raise money for grandmothers in Africa.
24806069_web1_210410-RDA-GrammaLink-Africa_1
GrammaLink-Africa members are participating in the Stride to Turn the Tide campaign until June 30. (Contributed photo)

A group of central Albertans will be walking every day until the end of June to raise money for grandmothers in Africa.

Members from Red Deer-area group GrammaLink-Africa began participating in the Stride to Turn the Tide campaign on April 1.

“We are inspired and humbled by what grandmothers of Africa accomplish every day to make the lives of their grandchildren and communities better,” said Shirley Challoner, of Grammalink-Africa.

“And to do this they must walk – walk for water, to get food, to obtain medical attention or anywhere else they need to go. We will walk to raise money and to show solidarity.”

The campaign supports African grandmothers and their community-based organizations, which remain urgent as they respond to the intersecting pandemics of HIV and AIDS and COVID-19, the Stride to Turn the Tide website said.

“These community-based organizations are the critical support systems that communities need, and they’re well positioned to adapt to the emerging challenges posed by COVID-19,” said the website.

The Stride to Turn the Tide campaign was created by Grandmothers and Grandothers, based in Canmore, in support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign.

The annual solidarity and awareness-raising walk has been taking place every June for the past 12 years. Grandmother groups and their supporters walk together physically, or virtually, to raise funds in support of grandmothers and their community-based organizations in sub-Saharan Africa, who are responding to the AIDS pandemic.

To date, more than $2.6 million has been raised through the campaign.

GrammaLink-Africa’s goal is to raise $2,000 this year. Those participating on personal and group walks will also count their steps to see how far they can walk.

For more information on Stride to Turn the Tide, visit slf.akaraisin.com/ui/stridetoturnthetide2021. For more information on Red Deer-area group GrammaLink-Africa, visit www.grammalink.org.



sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter



Sean McIntosh

About the Author: Sean McIntosh

Sean joined the Red Deer Advocate team in the summer of 2017. Originally from Ontario, he worked in a small town of 2,000 in Saskatchewan for seven months before coming to Central Alberta.
Read more