These Grannies Are on Safari

"We are women who have worked all our lives. We relate to and respond to these people, and understand the difference between eating and not eating, of girls not going to high school because they need an electric olive press," Fraser says.

Their support of the Linking Dreams Committee in Chicago creates educational opportunities for rural youth in South Africa, supplying solar-powered computers and soccer fields.

They have not wavered in their belief that boomers, never content to watch from the sidelines, are raring to see the world. "We're living proof" of that generation's penchant for reinvention, Fraser observes.

"They want to go to that village in Costa Rica and build that school. They want to be productive, to give back, to leave a legacy," says Fraser, who at 68 refers to herself as a "leading edge baby boomer."

"It has nothing to do with age or whether you are traveling or joining a community group or helping people in hospice. We are still productive people with a desire to participate in life."

Beating a life-threatening illness takes determination. Fraser was in her late 20s, with a 1-year-old daughter.

"I was given a blessing to be alive. From that experience I promised myself to never give up, to follow my dreams, to do all the things I wanted to do and try to always show those I loved that they mattered," she says. "I still live my life like this today. Doing this TV show is a result of that pledge I made to myself 40 years ago."