A non-governmental organisation (NGO) under the auspices of the Rock of Ages Empowerment Foundation, which aims to empower women and reduce illiteracy in rural communities, has distributed food and non-food items to over 1,200 widows in Abuja as part of events to mark the 2024 International Widows Day.
Women from different religious faiths and backgrounds across the FCT were invited to benefit from the distribution of food and non-food items and free medical outreaches.
The Foundation’s chief executive officer, Ignatius Newman Ezeigbo, explained that the empowerment outreach for women, particularly widows, started years ago in Maiduguri, Borno State, long before the United Nations designated a specific date to celebrate them.
“This 2024 outreach with the theme ‘Neglected but not forgotten’ is the 14th in the series of events by the Rock of Ages Empowerment Foundation to celebrate the widows and to assure them that widowhood is not a curse but a state of change in marital status,” he said.
He said the worsening economic situation in Nigeria could have tempered the programme, but he assured the women of his vow and commitment to improving their lives through financial support and skills empowerment.
“For the past 14 years, I have single-handedly, through the help of God, been responsible for the financial burden of this intervention. I have neither received financial support from the government nor my partners. It has been my money and support from a few friends.
“Nevertheless, we need financial and otherwise support to give more empowerment opportunities to these widows so they can be useful to themselves and their families financially and otherwise. Many of them have been trained in several entrepreneurship skills and are awaiting funds and start-up kits,” he said.
Newman said he was fulfilled that the Foundation has been able to sustain and accomplish its desire to champion an aggressive campaign on the need for empowering widows, orphans, and other vulnerable people in society.
He said the campaign has succeeded in restoring hope for thousands of women and their dependents, some of whom lost hope of survival when they lost their husbands.
“The foundation has transformed the lives of thousands of widows and their dependents in the past few years, through opportunity for skills acquisition, financial empowerment, monthly medical check-ups, and payment of school fees, amongst others,” he said.
According to him, their interventions are growing every day because they have continued to identify areas of need in society, particularly for women, children, and other vulnerable groups.
He encouraged the women to remain steadfast and know that God is with them, and He won’t allow whatever can consume them to come close to them or their children.
He assured them that efforts are being made to expand and strengthen the outreaches in their various zones across the FCT and beyond for more results.
One of the beneficiaries from the Keffi zone, who identified herself as Christiana, said she has benefitted greatly from the Foundation over the years in terms of food items, drugs, and several other interventions.
“I have been empowered with so many things from this Foundation, and I remain eternally grateful for that,” she said.
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