Global funding for HIV and AIDS programs is dropping. A Niagara-on-the-Lake fundraiser is here to help — and is warning that shrinking international aid has left frontline groups with a fraction of the funding they once had.
The April 23 event, hosted by Nyanyas of Niagara in support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, will feature former Ontario premier and Canada’s former ambassador to the United Nations Bob Rae and the foundation’s executive director, Meg French.
It will run from 6 to 9 p.m. at Central Niagara on York Road.
Cindy Grant, a member of Nyanyas of Niagara, said the timing is critical as “international aid, particularly from the U.S., but also across the globe, has been drastically cut,” affecting community-led programs across sub-Saharan Africa.
“So the Stephen Lewis Foundation has put out a plea to all of the grandmothers groups across Canada,” Grant said: “‘Please raise as much money as you can.’”
The group, which has operated for about a decade, sends 98 per cent of what it fundraises directly to the Stephen Lewis Foundation. It has contributed more than $130,000 to date.
Funds support efforts including health care, schools and basic services for communities where “grandmothers were raising these children with absolutely no supports,” said Grant.
“It’s just the right thing to do.”
This week, Canada is saying goodbye to the co-founder of the foundation, Stephen Lewis, who died on March 31 at the age of 88 after a battle with cancer.
Lewis was the leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party for eight years and the Canadian ambassador to the United Nations for four years. In the 2000s, he was part of the UN’s special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa and created the foundation with his daughter Ilana Landsberg-Lewis.
In a written statement, Grant said the Nyanyas of Niagara members are “very saddened” to learn of Lewis’ passing.
“One of our founding members Sandra Hardy had the privilege of meeting him a few times and remembers his warmth and passion for his work combatting the effects of HIV & AIDS and related issues in Africa,” she said.
“Our Grandmothers group in Niagara-on-the-Lake is proud to support this important work as a tribute to his foundation and as an honour of his legacy.”
Grant encouraged residents to support local work, charities and projects — “but it’s also important to support the work internationally,” she said.
The goal is simple, Grant added: “Raise some money and raise awareness.”
