Grandmother to Grandmother - Video Documentary

This documentary examines the lives of grandmothers on two continents who are living with the effects of AIDS in their families and communities. According to the film's directors, in Sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS is wiping out a generation of parents, leaving 13 million orphans behind. A similar thing is happening in cities all across America. AIDS, drugs, and violence are wiping out a generation of parents, leaving millions of children behind. Grandmothers, often impoverished themselves, are rescuing the children and struggling to raise them.

This film introduces two projects – one in the Bronx, one in Tanzania - and tells the stories of how partnerships work to transform situations fraught with confusion and fear into opportunities for renewal and hope. According to the filmmakers, the founders of these projects are finding simple and effective ways to support grandmothers who are raising grandchildren. Children who were "at risk" are now thriving. Grandmothers who felt hopeless are beginning to hope again.

A discussion guide is available to facilitate group viewing. The filmmakers' hope in making this film is that when people, individually or in groups, view the documentary, they will act upon the idea that they could do something similar in their own community. Toward this goal, the filmmakers are in the process of preparing materials that will facilitate the replication of the programmes. In addition, they can connect people with the main contacts of either the programme in the Bronx or the programme in Tanzania.