Gapa Unclaimed

GAPA was started in October 2001 as a direct result of the implementation phase of a research project undertaken by the Albertina and Walter Sisulu Institute of Ageing in Africa at the University of Cape Town GAPA is a voluntary organization managed by a committee of grandmothers who represent different areas of Khayelitsha and an occupational therapist GAPA «Grandmothers Against Poverty & AIDs GAPA has received funds from the South African government, namely the Department of Social Development, the Department of Arts and Culture and the Western Cape Department of Social Services and Poverty Alleviation

Grandmothers are actively recruited by GAPA members and invited to attend the monthly four day workshops. They are then invited to join a support group. Membership is voluntary with the only requirement being active participation. GAPA members are generally women over the age of 50 who are affected by HIV/AIDS. Grandfathers who are present in households support GAPA because it strengthens their wives’ coping skills, enabling them to take care of their families in the way that they are expected to.