Harry Bullen is hoping to pull some chairs out from beneath Squamish residents.
The local hairdresser is on the hunt for small, children's chairs. It's all a part of a fundraiser to support African grandmothers raising a generation of children orphaned by AIDS. The chairs will be collected by Greater Van Gogos - the campaign backing the Stephen Lewis Foundation initiative - painted by various artists and sold in an auction.
"I just thought it was such a great idea," Bullen said.
The Greater Van Gogos - Gogos is a Zulu word for "grandmother" - have raised more than $1 million to help support grandmothers caring for children in 15 sub-Saharan African countries, stated the organization's website.
Sixty-nine per cent of the people living globally with HIV reside in Africa, according to a May 2013 report from the United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS) organization. Despite recent positive trends, in 2011 there were 1.8 million new HIV infections across the continent and 1.2 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses.
The stories of women who have taken their grandchildren under their care touched Bullen. So far, Bullen has collected three chairs and a team in West Vancouver has collected eight. Last weekend, he scoured garage sales for more seats. There's no rush as the auction for the painted chairs will take place at the end of the year, but Bullen is hoping to gather a large pile of chairs.
"We need a lot more," he said.
Chairs can be dropped off at Cut'n Loose at 38157 Second Ave. or you can email Bullen at [email protected] and he'll pick them up. For more information on the Greater Van Gogos visit www.greatervangogos.org. For information on the Stephen Lewis Foundation visit www.stephenlewisfoundation.org.
