Who are the Togogos?
The Togogos are a group based at Bloor Street who work to raise concern about HIV/AIDS in Africa, to advocate for affordable drugs to combat the pandemic and to raise funds for the Stephen Lewis Foundation. Most of us are members of the congregation but we also have quite a number from elsewhere. We welcome newcomers at every meeting, enjoy getting to know them and help them get involved in one of our committees: fundraising, program and advocacy, membership and social gatherings, and publicity.
The Stephen Lewis foundation (SLF) supports community–level organizations that are turning the tide of AIDS in Africa by providing care and support to women, orphans, grandmothers and people living with HIV and AIDS. The S.L.F. provides food, school uniforms, health care, grief counseling, and S.L.F. field workers who listen and respond as the grandmothers’ tell them what will help them meet the many challenges facing them. We are one of the more than 240 groups across Canada belonging to the S.L.F. Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign which raises funds for this life-saving work. To learn more about the work of the SLF and the Grandmothers Campaign please visit their website at www.stephenlewisfoundation.org.
We also advocate vigorously with the federal government for new legislation to make affordable generic anti-retroviral drugs available in Africa, and to end social and environmental exploitation by Canadian mining companies. The Grandmothers National Advocacy Committee in Ottawa guides and resources this work.
For more information or to join this group, check out their web site togogograns.org
