The Power of Grandmothers

Dunham was honoured to receive The Order of GRAN from the Grandmothers Advocacy Network this last week. Our country and our world is better because of their committment to advocacy.

When I was a child, I didn’t have grandmothers in my life. My father’s mother had died before my parents were married, and my mother’s mother lived thousands of Kilometers away.

With my own mother, I often saw the devotion, care and generosity she showed to her grandchildren. I knew without a doubt that she would do anything she could for them; her commitment gave her the ability to move mountains.

We have been honoured to experience a similar level of commitment from a different set of grandmothers; a Canadian group called Grandmothers Advocacy Network, or GRAN. A spin-off from Stephen Lewis’ Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, GRAN was formed in 2007 with the single task of taking on the Government advocacy work when the original Grandmothers’ group was in danger of losing their charitable status. Both groups saw that government involvement – on an international level – would be required to help  the thousands of grandmothers on the African continent who were now the sole caregivers for hundreds of thousands of orphaned children.

We started working with GRAN in 2015 and grew increasingly impressed with their work overtime. These were not meek souls; they saw the value of their work, and more so they saw the need for it. Their commitment was – and is – inspiring.

GRAN does not fundraise; rather they ask members to contribute what they can, so the organization has the communications tools they need to do their work. They work with modest budgets. When their old website became more of a hindrance than a help, we decided to ensure they had the tools they needed to continue their work for the next ten years. We also decided that budget should not get in the way.

And it didn’t.

Our contribution was honoured this past week when GRAN awarded Dunham with the Order of GRAN.

“The Order of GRAN is conferred to honour a person or organization that has made an outstanding contribution to the work of GRAN. The award recognizes that GRAN benefits greatly from the efforts of friends and allies who have given generously in many different ways to support our development and our advocacy work. The Order of GRAN is bestowed with deep appreciation, respect, and gratitude.”

It was amazing to hear stories from the three women who visited us. These are accomplished; graceful women who take their commitment in stride.

Currently they are working to get 100,000 signatures to be able to petition world leaders who will attend the UN Water Conference in December 2026 to adequately fund clean water in every health centre worldwide, so women can give birth in a facility with clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. Their ask is not an expensive one, yet it’s lacked the political will. GRAN wants to change that.

You can learn more about GRAN by visiting their website. You can sign the petition on the WaterAid website.