GRANDMOTHERS - AFRICA'S UNSUNG HEROES
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25.6 million people in Africa are living with HIV/AIDS (WHO 2021)
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2 million die every year, 60% of these were women in the prime of their lives.
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Tens of millions of children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS, including 14.8 million under the age of 18.
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In East and Southern Africa, women and girls are three times more likely than their male peers to acquire HIV (SLF 2026)
HIV/AIDS continues to take the lives of men and women, aged 18 to 49 in Africa, resulting in a continent of orphans. Amidst the devastation, grandmothers bury their own children and are the only ones left to raise their grandchildren and other extended family members, often 10 or more. Frequently sick and isolated, the grandmothers must work to support themselves and their orphaned grandchildren. African grandmothers are labouring to hold children and communities together.
We can help make a difference to the lives of these families. Kingston Grandmother Connection raises funds to provide African grandmothers and their families in need with programs to support their medical and mental health needs as well as basics such as adequate food, heating oil for their shelter, school fees and uniforms.