It is traumatizing to be a widow in any part of the world but in 3rd world countries such as Nigeria, being a widow comes with its own peculiar challenges. Apart from various unfriendly widowhood practices in different cultures, there is also the challenge of being sole breadwinner of a family which had full support prior to the demise of its head.

This is perhaps why the United Nations set aside a day dedicated to the ways by which the world better addresses the “poverty and injustice faced by millions of widows and their dependants in many countries of the world. Last week, non-governmental, intergovernmental and governmental organizations commemorated the day (June 23) in Nigeria on an unprecedented level.

By Funmi Olasupo

THE International Widows  Day has come and gone but will continue to linger in the memory of 1, 500 widows in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja and its environs  as they were recipients of various start-up packs for setting up small businesses.   This amazing gesture came from a well-spirited non-governmental organisation, the Rock of Ages Empowerment Foundation, RAEF, whose passion is to ensure encouragement and joy returns to the down trodden in the society.

A widow with her children

This was demonstrated during the recently held International Widows Day, at the Women Development Centre, Abuja, where they doled out the gifts to the benefitting widows.  Founder and Executive Director, RAEF, Evangelist Ignatius Ezeigbo, disclosed that from 2011 till date, the foundation has empowered over 9,000 widows in various areas of skills acquisition.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the well being of widows in the country,  Evng. Newman however called on the National Assembly to enact a law that would protect the rights of widows in the country He said: “What I always tell government is that there is no existing law protecting rights of the widows in this country. We need such a law to come up to protect the rights of these women.

“Like what we have discovered here during medical check-up, their blood pressure is always high, not because that’s what they but because of the situation in which they find themselves. “In some cases, they are stripped of their husband’s property and even thrown out of their family houses by their brothers-in-law, who are only interested in taking whatever the widows’ husbands left behind.

“Government will always tell you there is no fund. But we partner with government agencies like Ministry of Women Affairs. They always encourage us to continue doing the good work we are doing,” Evng. Newman said. When asked of further achievements, Newman explained that over 10,000 widows and the less privileged have benefited from her healthcare service scheme and adding that over 2,000 children have also benefited from her education support programs.

This year he said, more than 1,500 widows drawn from Abuja and its environs  are being empowered financially and materially by the Foundation. The over 1, 500 widows, at the event, were empowered with equipment and cash to enable them set up their small scale businesses. It was gathered that prior to the empowerment, the beneficiaries who attended the events had undergone various vocational trainings.

Materials and equipment donated to the widows include iron pots, sewing merchants, grinding machines, micro ovens, clothing materials, processing items, food items among others. Meanwhile, since June 23, 2011, the Foundation has been actively committed to transform lives of these underprivileged and vulnerable widows by giving them  quality education, good medical treatment and financial support irrespective of age, gender, race, religion or financial status.

The Foundation now has become a household name, because of its positive impact on various families and individuals who were nothing but now are something in the society.  The empowerment programmes and activities of the Foundation span beyond Abuja to other States in the northern part of the country where the less privileged have benefited immensely and are now doing well. Empowerment Foundation is now a household name to so many families, agencies, organizations and government Ministries within and outside Nigeria because of her activities.