Bridge Crossing 2024 was an awareness and education event organized by the Ottawa One World Grannies, in solidarity with the Grandmothers of sub-Saharan Africa, and in celebration of National Grandparents Day in Canada held on Sept. 8th at the Chief William Commanda Bridge.
The event celebrated connections – to grandparents here and in sub-Saharan Africa; to the cities and provinces connected by the re-purposed pedestrian and bike bridge named for the late revered Algonquin Chief, William Commanda, and to the traditional and ancestral Indigenous territory, which includes the watershed of the Kitchissippi (meaning Great River – now known as the Ottawa River).
Mme. Claudette Commanda, granddaughter of Chief William Commanda, Chancellor of the University of Ottawa, and a grandmother herself, came to the event and gave a heartfelt and moving speech. She told us that “Kokom” is the Indigenous word for grandmother and explained the importance and connectedness of all grandmothers worldwide.
The event was also a participant in the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Clothesline Campaign, that encouraged Granny groups across the country to host events on National Grandparents Day, and have passersby write notes of solidarity with African grandmothers and pin them to temporary clotheslines. Bilingual information sheets about the Grandmothers Campaign as well as SLF bookmarks and paper and pens for messages of solidarity were available.
Bridge Crossing events can be challenging, especially on an unseasonably cold and windy morning, but Grannies from several regional groups braved the elements and agreed they were glad to have met the challenge. And $415 in donations was raised! One World Granny photographer Maureen Murphy’s photos of the Crossing event are available on her website.
Photo: Maureen Murphy