'Forgotten' grandmas

Organizers said the event was intended to celebrate the grandmothers and great-grandmothers on whom South Africa's largely impoverished society depends, even if they remain in the shadows.

Nearly four in 10 children are raised in homes headed by grandparents, according to official data, with many parents forced to relocate for work, a high rate of teenage pregnancies and AIDS-related deaths among the contributing factors.

"Often times the minute they take pension they are forgotten citizens, and all they do is look after great-grandchildren and grandchildren," local official Bridget Thusi said.

"To have programs like this where they are celebrated and to forget the problems at home was really an amazing thing to see," she said.

For Malindi, it was a boost after losing her husband four years ago.

"At our old age, we thought that maybe because our husbands are gone, everything is gone, it's the end of the world," she said.

But the event "picked our spirits up… taught us we are still alive and life still goes on, we better make ourselves the right grannies," she said, her brown eyes sparkling.