Admission is $5 per travelogue payable at the door.  Coffee and refreshments available.

January 20th – “Land and Water Safaris in Africa:  the Big Five and Much More” – presented by Anne and Hugh Clarke.  This is a dazzling photo safari full of excellent photography and narration and many animals including babies.

January 27th -”Papua, New Guinea” – presented by Beverley Barling.  The second largest island in the world is a “land of extraordinary variety, high mountains, vast swamps and deltas, endless forests, coastal plains, great rivers, myriad islands, reefs and cays”.

February 3rd – “Bhutan” the mythical Buddhist kingdom in the heart of the Himalayas, where the happiness quotient is the ruling principal.  Presented by Sue Harnett as she walks you through the many discoveries she made while delving into Bhutan, a paradise waiting to be explored.

February 10th – “Newfoundland, Land of Surprises” – presented by tom Skinner.  Come and learn what there is to be surprised by in this beautiful province.  Tom’s superb photography is there waiting to be explored and enjoyed by the audience.

Gogos look at Grannies à Gogo fund-raising photos

For example, when looking at the fall crafts workshop photos they were very interested in the pumpkin centerpieces, as that is something that grows well here. I fielded questions on how to make them … never mind that I was over making wreathes and not the centerpieces! The little Sock-It-Away coin collectors also intrigued them.

When shown a photo of our stall at a craft fair with quilted bags hanging on display, we had a good laugh when one of them pointed to a tree where several of them often hang their purses and bags, and admonished me not to sell their bags. One gogo asked, “Where are your black women?” Good question. I then explained the demographics of Vernon, and also of Vancouver and Toronto for comparison – probably more information than they wanted.

Their monthly supplemental food parcels were distributed, which included their staple bag of mealie meal, a box of soy meal and six eggs. It’s always a marvel to watch the stately manner in which these are transported home.

And always, irresistible children around, eager to have their photo taken:

Milly and her adorable Nonhle, now 18 months old

These two had been hanging about, seemingly attached to no one and said, “Shoot us, Ma'am”. (Don’t have to ask me twice)

Use this opportunity to support the Grannies à Gogo as well as provide gifts for your friends, family, coworkers or clients.

Calendars are $10 each or 2 for $15 available from members of Grannies à Gogo, emailing granniesagogo@gmail.com or phoning Shirley Grabinsky at 250-542-4285.

That’s the theme for our Potluck dinner to fun-raise AND fund-raise.

Join the Grannies on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 5:45 at room 101 THE PEOPLE PLACE, #101 3402 – 27th Avenue

Bring a contribution to the dinner, purchase items, have a chance at a raffle basket, bid on silent auction items and more (surprise).

You’ll also need utensils, dishes, cups, funds for purchasing items.

Be prepared for PLENTY of surprises.

Please email granniesagogo@gmail.com if you intend to come (we need to make sure there are tables/chairs for you!)

Israel and Jordan: Mysterious Land of Cobbled Streets and Ancient Ruins presented by Beverley Barling. A lifetime dream became reality, when Beverley was able to travel to the Middle East in October 2010. A combination of fascinating ruins, gentle scenery and interesting cultural activities, bring biblical and historical facts alive through the eye of her camera and presentation.

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Escape to the Islands of Great Boobies, the Galapagos Islands. Enjoy an introduction to Blue-footed, Red-footed and Masked Boobies, Galapagos Frigate Birds, the Brown Noddy, Land and Marine Iguanas, the Giant Tortoise and many other species unique to the Galapogos Islands. Ponder, too, with Hugh and Anne Clarke, Charles Darwin’s devotion to studying the lowly ground finch in the midst of this grand array of unusual and unique species.

All presentations will be held at 10:00 a.m at the People Place, 3402 – 27th Avenue. Admission is $5 per session.

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The series begins Friday, January 21 when Tom Skinner presents Australia: Jumping Crocodiles and Upside Down Birds. In November 2010, Tom and his wife Myna, travelled to Australia.

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Other presentations in the series will be:

Friday, January 28: Escape to the Islands of Great Boobies, the Galapagos Islands with Hugh and Anne Clarke

Friday, February 4: Israel and Jordan: Mysterious Land of Cobbled Streets and Ancient Ruins presented by Beverley Barling.

Friday, February 18: Haida Gwaii: Islands of the People

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Suggested gifts:

$10 – weekly blood pressure and insulin monitoring supplies for 2 gogos for one entire year
$25 – one year’s supply of sewing, beading and craft materials for 4 gogos for their fledgling cottage industry
$50 – 12 monthly supplemental protein food parcels for a gogo and her orphaned grandchildren
$100 – garden tools, seeds and bedding plants for a community vegetable garden that produces 3 different crops per year for 10 gogos and their families

Thank you’s flowed, and what was clear is that we all truly understand that it is the team effort – Grannies à Gogo, Rev. Ginny, Milly and Ruth, Joy and Reinette, and the indomitable spirit of the gogos. The whole thing has become bigger than the sum of its parts.

My breath was quite taken away when two of them hustled me off to a side room and put a traditional SiSwati dress on me. This was a surprise not only to me, but to all the other gogos, and when we re-entered singing and swaying they were almost as euphoric as I was. The symbolism of making me their sister didn’t escape me.

Earlier I gave a little party for the gogos and Home Based Care ladies – two cakes decorated with “We love you Sitabogogo” and bowls of fruit and juice.

Ginny, surrounded by hats, scarves and knitted caps.

On another subject, I’m often asked why the gogos are always seen with hats of some sort and haven’t been able to answer. So I finally asked. They answered that it is their culture to wear a head covering once a woman is married or has a child (those two events being in no particular order.) They explained they are probably the last generation to do so, as young women now experiment with many hairstyles instead. They also mentioned that they’ve never worn trousers as the younger women now do. Here’s an idea via Ginny – to buy white cotton hats for all of them, similar to the one in the lower left of the photo, and then they will decorate them with their beadwork.

I’ve made reference throughout the last three weeks to how Sitabogogo has become a recognized presence in the community. This was underscored yet again when Ginny introduced me to the young man instrumental in organizing the representatives from Thaba Chweu for last year’s Senior Games (see Blog #4: Golden Gogos). Apparently this year he hopes to make up an entire team from Sitabogogo!

So much to watch for and support in the year ahead. Salani kahle, and hope to see many of you at the Pot Luck on March 31st – I’ll have a slide show of this visit (and wear my SiSwati member dress!)