Yuanita Oyuke - 68 years old; raising 2 grandchildren
San Francisco Bay Area’s Bie Bostrom founded Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren for the children of Ahero Kenya whose parents have died of AIDS. Grandmothers have stepped in to raise their orphaned grandchildren in a town where most of the population lives on less than $1 a day.
To hear Bie’s story is strengthening in itself. This petite woman, born during World War II, had been trained as a nurse, but the graduation gift of a camera from her father changed her life. She left nursing for a successful career in photography. And, when her husband died she joined the Peace Corps. Unusual for a woman of her age, but she survived the primitive conditions with good humor and devotion to the people of Ahero. And life in Ahero has gotten better under Bie’s guidance since she took it upon herself to work with Ahero youth leader Moses Warah to bring self-sufficiency, self-respect, economic strength, hope and success to Ahero.
It is heartening to see the beautiful handiwork of these women and to see how a donation to Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren buys a goat that is the start of independence and self-reliance for a hard-working group of older women. There are now 170 grandchildren being raised by 40 women who have, by necessity, stepped in where they are needed, as the strengths of their families. I invite you to visit us and hear Bie talk about her life in Ahero and the path that took her there and to hear the love letter she wrote.
From me to you with love in the air,
Janet
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