It may be hard to believe, but 2013 is coming to a close in just one month, and now is the time to think about a calendar for the new year.
Grannies à Gogo: the Vernon South Africa Connection have a suggestion: the 2014 Okanagan Reflections Calendar.
Filled with the winning entries from the grannies’ recent photo contest, the calendars are being sold to raise funds for the Gogos (African grandmothers) who are bringing up their orphaned grandchildren in Sabie, South Africa
For the second year in a row, Janus Steyn’s photograph was selected as the winner and will grace the front cover of the calendar. His prize was a basket of Okanagan-inspired produce donated by Swan Lake Nurseryland.
His photo showing a distant view of the city of Vernon with sunlight filtering through the clouds will also be included in the month of May.
Grannies à Gogo is a group of women in Vernon who provide compassionate support through personal contact (including letter writing) and financial aid to African Grandmothers caring for their AIDS – orphaned grandchildren. Gogo is the Zulu world for grandmother, so the name translates as “grandmothers to grandmothers.”
The volunteer and independent group is a “sister” project with Sitabogogo (Zulu for “Help a Grandmother”) in Sabie. These African women suffered the oppression of apartheid during their formative years, they fought to gain democracy during their adult prime and now, instead of relaxing in their senior years, are parenting their orphaned grandchildren.
The calendars are $15 each and come with a mailing envelope. They are available from members of Grannies à Gogo or by e-mailing granniesagogo@gmail.com.
