Dolores Meade, counselor, psychotherapist, and grandmother: “The Grandmothers’ Campaign

Dolores Meade, counselor, psychotherapist, and
grandmother: “The Grandmothers’ Campaign:
Grandmothers helping African grandmothers to raise their
AIDs-orphaned grandchildren”
The Grandmothers’ Campaign is a collection of about 250
groups of grandmothers (and grand others) who raise
money to support grandmothers who are affected by the
AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. These grandmothers
have lost their children to AIDS and are caring for their
grandchildren, often with no support. The campaign donates
the money though the Stephen Lewis Foundation. The
groups also raise awareness, in our own communities, of the
situation facing these women.
The campaign is unusual among philanthropic organizations
in that it supports grassroots organizations and offers a
flexible and less bureaucratic relationship between donor
and recipient. African expertise is sought out and respected.
This talk will highlight these differences and give insight
both into the situation in Africa and the role and
contribution of Canadian grandmothers.
Bio:
Dolores Meade has a M.Ed from McGill in Counselling and
currently works in private practice as a psychotherapist.
She began a grandmothers’ group in her community of
Hudson St Lazare in 2007 and is currently the volunteer
regional liaison for the eastern Quebec region. She has a
passion for this work that was born when she became aware
of the situation in Africa. At that time, she was a
grandmother to two small boys who were the light of her
life. She realized that, merely by being born in Canada, she
had the privilege to love and give to her children and
grandchildren without the onerous responsibilities of
parenthood. That grandmothers who were less fortunate
needed to take on so much responsibility and were doing so
with little support moved her greatly.