Thérèse Bourque Lambert was already an octogenarian when she started a granny-to-granny group in Montreal, Quebec, with the Stephen Lewis Foundation,to support grannies raising their AIDS-orphaned grandchildren in Africa. In Southern Africa, grandmothers were burying their own children lost to HIV/AIDS and were also struggling to ensure the survival of their grandchildren. Thérèse was moved by their resilience. She could not ignore their struggle and could not accept that they were beyond help. Thérèse wanted to do something more direct, local, and well, small. And so she did. She reached out to long-time family friend Roger Roome, a development officer posted in Lilongwe, Malawi with the Canadian International Development Agency, and tasked him with finding a project supporting grandmothers and their grandchildren that could be sustained from Montreal. In 2007, after an eight-month search and after examining many applications, Roger chose the tiny village of Mnjale located in central Malawi, about a 45-minute drive north of the capital Lilongwe.

Roger selected Mnjale because it was already home to a group of volunteers that had organized themselves to support the community’s grannies (and a few grampas) who were raising their AIDS-orphaned grandchildren. The village headman had granted land beside a stream for raising crops to feed these families. A youth brigade had been organized to till, plant, water, weed and harvest, as well as carry out repairs to the grannies’ huts. They were doing all this already, with no money, but were desperately seeking ways to raise funds to do more.

Thérèse’s direct support of Mnjale began on a very small scale. Roger would visit the grannies in Mnjale, listen to their stories, and ask them to list their most pressing needs. Their first list included a blanket for each of their huts (nights can drop to 6ºC in winter), a watering can for the garden, and some basic supplies like soap, matches, tea, and sugar. He would then pass the information along to Thérèse, who would in turn invite 10-15 grannies she knew in Montreal to gather in her apartment over tea. Thérèse would advocate passionately on behalf of the Mnjale grannies and tell her fellow grannies about the needs of the community. She would urge her friends to get out their cheque books and give what they could. In some cases, pocket change would be sent over to Roger to give to the grannies. Other times, the grannies raised and sent more. Roger explained to the grannies in Mnjale that the funds were not coming from a large aid organization, the government, or even from wealthy donors: the funds were coming from older women in Canada, mostly widowed, who scrimped from their pensions and social assistance to give what they could.

In 2009-2010, the Canadian High Commission in Malawi closed, and Canada’s bilateral aid program to Malawi came to an end. This mean that Roger, unfortunately, had to leave Malawi. Thérèse was determined to continue helping the grannies in Mnjale and refused to abandon them. Thankfully, Roger was able to secure the help of the Missionary Sisters of Immaculate Conception (the “MIC”), represented by the Québécoise Sister Gisèle Leduc,who agreed to continue to provide the oversight and management that was needed on the ground.

Sadly, Thérèse passed away in 2011, leaving behind a rich legacy of community leadership and social activism. However, her work continued through the dedication and direction of her children and grandchildren, all of whom were inspired by her monumental example. The Theresa Foundation was formally established in her name as a non-profit organization in July of 2011, was registered as a recognized charity under Malawi law, and was then awarded charitable status by the Canada Revenue Agency in 2016.

In keeping with the example set by Thérèse, the Foundation has been funding projects in Malawi for over 10 years. While it has grown from its modest origins, the Foundation has not strayed from the principles laid down by Thérèse – her children and grandchildren volunteer their time to ensure that all money raised locally is sent directly to the people in need. Presently, the Foundation carries out its projects and activities in the village of Mnjale as well as the surrounding villages of Fuse and Chilundu, which are populated by approximately 180 grandmothers, 250 orphans of the AIDS epidemic, and about 3,000 people all together.

Please find below a map of Malawi indicating approximately where the villages are located:

Every penny that is raised in Canada through theatrical productions, concerts, and other fundraising goes directly to supporting the grandmothers and grandchildren of Mnjale and its surrounding villages. They continue to inspire us through their resilience, their resourcefulness and their courage. We will not rest until they can rest. We will not let them down.