THERE are millions of widows in our society, yet their problems are often ignored. Thankfully Mrs. Rachel Umahi is trying to break the silence of these suffering women in order to support them to play active roles in building their families and communities.

Widows, all over the country, are a particularly vulnerable group. Mrs. Umahi has stated that this is a subject very close to her heart because prejudice against widowhood provokes a large proportion of violence and discrimination against women everywhere.  Many of these women face harsh discrimination and social exclusion on account of their gender. A large number of widows still live in extreme poverty in Nigeria. In many instances, their children have to drrop-out of school to go work to fill up the gap in the household income, the void left by their fathers’ death.

According to Mrs. Umahi, widows’ poverty has deprived their children of aspiration, education and future employment. This according to her also affects the whole of society. It is a silent humanitarian crisis, she has argued in many circles.

As individuals, we must ask ourselves what is to be done so that women can build a brighter future for their children and also in order these women in this type of  particular situation, whose children are often most at risk, are supported effectively.  Supporting widows catalyses a developmental multiplier effect, generating wide social and economic benefits in their societies. It impacts directly on poverty, on their children’s education, on gender equality, on child mortality.

According to Mrs. Umahi, widow empowerment is on her top priority list because as women gain knowledge, children learn. As women become employed, economies grow. As women are given equality, nations become stronger, and justice and equality also become attainable.

Research by the Africa Partnership Forum has shown that if more women had been educated and employed, Africa’s economies would have doubled in size over the last 30 years. To support women, then, is to support their children; and to support vulnerable women is to support even more vulnerable children. The First Lady in her determination to ensure a better life for Ebonyi widows has been able to get the State Government to give automatic employment to  widows in the state. Through her pet project ‘Family succour and up liftment’, Mrs. Umahi has been able to change the lives of thousands of widows in less than two years in office. She has started a legacy that would endure. Although it is common for most First Ladies to have significant projects to which they attach their names, we haven’t seen one as determined to make a difference in more disciplined and creative ways.

It is Projects like these that those in public office are remembered for, long after they are gone. The impact of the programme of Mrs. Umahi’s Foundation in Ebonyi State is life changing and every indigene of the State owes him or herself the duty to make the Foundation succeed and make society better. Projects like this go a long way to meet societal needs.

Mr. Ikenna Nwodu., a public affairs analyst, wrote from Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.