MORE than 1500 'Gogos' (grandmothers) will march through Durban next Saturday morning, 16 July to put a spotlight on their rights and concerns at the eve of the 2016 International AIDS Conference (#AIDS2016).
The march is organised by the Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust (HACT), together with 21 community-based organisations and funded by the Stephen Lewis Foundation. The march will start at 8am at the Garden Court on Marine Parade and proceed to the Durban International Convention Centre around 10am where a formal presentation will begin.
At the end of the march the gogos will present a statement to government at a special formal ceremony at Durban’s International Convention Centre in the presence of the UNAIDS executive director, Michel Sidibé, and other high profile guests.
Claire Hodgkinson, marketing and fundraising manager at the HACT said gogos from the upper Highway and Valley of 1000 Hills will join gogos from across Durban to raise awareness of the challenges they face and the need for better recognition and support. “Gogos are frequently the sole breadwinners for their families and shoulder the responsibility of caring for their grandchildren, many of whom have been impacted by HIV/AIDS,” Hodgkinson said.
A 68-year-old gogo from Molweni, in the Valley of 1000 Hills who will be joining the march said she had a passion for raising awareness about preventing HIV infection. Having lost five of her ten children to HIV/AIDS, and seven of her grandchildren, she has to rely on her small pension and selling second hand clothes to support her remaining thirteen grandchildren and daughter.
“Once I knew that my children had died one by one from AIDS, I did all I could to tell people to learn their status. I still raise awareness and tell people to get tested and take their medication, and I go with them to the clinic,” the woman said, adding, “I am very happy about our march because we need to tell people about the problems in our communities, and let them know how much we do to help.”
There are an estimated 3.37 million orphaned children in South Africa and gogos play a pivotal role in the lives of these children as breadwinners and carers. Many gogos also have to cope with the grief of losing many loved ones. KwaZulu-Natal has the largest child population and the highest orphan numbers, with 23% of children in the province recorded as orphans who have lost a mother, a father or both parents according to reports in the Children’s Institute.
