Cwengi’s dream empowers thousands of gogos

CWENGI Myeni saw the plight faced by the grandmothers in the Valley of 1 000 Hills due to the AIDS epidemic and, with her iron-clad determination to see others succeed, mobilised more than 2 000 grandmothers to form support groups.

The 73-year-old grandmother first worked for the Department of Health as a professional nurse in the Valley from 1973 to 2003 when she joined the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust in July 2013. She trained and worked with the 70 home-based carers. “It was during the home visits where I would see patients who were severely ill and who had been discharged from hospital after only two days. Their families did not know how to look after them and we were a necessity,” said Cwengi.

The idea for the granny supports groups started in 2006 and the reason for this was due to the grandmothers having to look after the children that were left behind when their parents died from AIDS or an AIDS related illness. “We are very comprehensive in our approach and continue to visit the families and see how they are coping. The grandmothers were confused and didn’t know what to do. There were so many of them that did not have their birth certificates for their grandchildren and we started off by helping to apply for those documents and offering them advice. This was a serious problem in the community,” said Cwengi. “I then realised that we needed support groups to empower the people to learn to support themselves. They needed to be strong as they were now starting all over again as parents.”

The programme started with two groups, one in Molweni and another in Inchanga. “Grandmothers from Canada heard that in Africa it was the grandmothers that looked after the children and wanted to hear from us themselves,” said Cwengi. Both she and another nurse, Princess Mkhize, were invited to attend a conference in Canada. “At the conference I met grandmothers from other African countries and gained an insight into what needed to be done and what I could implement in the Valley,” she said.

The Canadian grannies committed to create support groups of their own to fundraise for the gogos in Africa through the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

Cwengi’s daughter was a doctor in Canada and she fell extremely ill in August 2006, during the time of the granny conference. She died a few months later from brain cancer. “For me, the whole project was a healing project,” said a teary-eyed Cwengi.

Since its inception, the groups have grown exponentially. There are now 51 support groups with more than 2 000 members throughout KwaNyuswa, Inchanga, Qadi, Molweni, Ngcolosi, Dassenhoek, Klaarwater and are extending to places such as Clermont.

“Through the support groups I have seen people’s development. Women who were hopeless and then the project changed their lives. From not knowing to becoming empowered. People are now able to do things on their own,” said a proud Cwengi.

A group that started in 2010 purchased two bread-making machines and bake bread, pizza and cakes and sell these items to the community to generate an income. In other groups there are women who make concrete blocks. “These women have been living in mud houses are now building their own concrete homes. This is a way to empower them and show others that they do not have to wait for the government to give them homes,” said Cwengi.

The support groups also run their own vegetable gardens and are able to feed their families and sell the surplus to others. There are now three dress-making schools in the community. Twenty gogos who have a passion for creating beautiful items take part in the six-month course. Two advanced dress making courses were introduced for those who were interested in starting their own sewing businesses. “The gogos who have trained there now make clothes to order and the women are now able to support their families on the income they generate through this,” said a beaming Cwengi.

Poultry farming has also been introduced into the groups where the women sell eggs and chickens to generate an income.

In 2011 the Goglympics was introduced and a few hundred gogos gathered to play soccer, pass the ball, yuskei, basketball and duck walk. “This was to encourage grannies into sports. In our communities, a person at the age of 50 feels as if there is nothing they can do, but they can now keep fit, healthy and active,” said Cwengi.

South African history was made during the first ever Gathering of Grannies at the Garden Court Hotel in Durban from 13 to 15 July, hosted by the Stephen Lewis Foundation and HACT. On 16 July more than 2 000 gogos were mobilised and marched to the ICC to present a memorandum covering the challenges the grannies face and that they want their voices to be heard. This was handed to national and international governments. “The grannies were very excited about it and it was a way for them to raise their self-esteem and to see that they do have a voice,” said Cwengi. “It is no longer just support groups, what we have created is now a movement and not just in South Africa but in Africa.”

“I am very grateful to the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust, the Stephen Lewis Foundation and all of the other donors as this project would not be what it is now without their valued support,” she said.