The president of an Abuja the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) based Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Takem Empowerment Initiatives (TEIs), an NGO that has been training and empowering the widows, the needy and the less privileged in the society, Chief (Mrs) Rachael Adewumi, who doubles as the woman leader, the FCT chapter of National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTs) has drawn the attentions of world leaders to widows’ plights.
Amb Adewumi also drew the attentions of the international and religious organisations, companies and people of goodwill to the plights of widows all over the world.
Dr Adewumi drew their attentions to the plights of widows while addressing journalists in her office at the recently marked 2023 International Widows Day (IWD) in the FCT.
The IWD was initially established by The Loomba Foundation to raise awareness of the issues faced by widows. It was later adopted by the United Nations (UN) and observed as a day of action to address the “poverty and injustice faced by millions of widows.”
Celebrated every year on June 23, it is a special day established by the United Nations dedicated to addressing the poverty and injustice faced by millions of widows and their dependents.
The theme for the one of this year is ‘Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality.’ Every year, the UN announces a new theme for this day to raise awareness about the challenges faced by widows. All the events hosted on the day are based on that year’s International Widows Day theme.
Hailing the theme of the 2023 event, as well as seeing reasons in their assistance, Amb Rachael Adewumi therefore said that at the death of their husbands, some widows were left to the mercy of God.
She said she has observed with dismay that some widows were not only abandoned to carter for themselves, children and shelter, but also that in some areas, obnoxious customs don’t give them access to their husbands’ properties; thus making them to end up suffering and unable to train and bring their children up in a proper way, for their future.
She pointed out that coming to the assistance of the widows and their children would go a long way to reduce to the barest minimum, the level of poverty globally.
Among the ways she suggested that the widows should be assisted, she went on, was by putting into a stop any law that deny a widow and her children access to her husband and father’s property respectively.
Another way, according to the NGO president, was through empowerment, in the form of training them in different vocations and ensuring that they start what they were trained on, as she has been doing for them, through her NGO, the TEIs. She also suggested giving soft loans to those of them, who are into buying and selling and other similar businesses at little or no interest.
The woman leader also suggested free education for their children, saying that education will go a long way, as one of the keys to success.
If to locate and address them directly would be too difficult to any organisation or government that wishes to assist them, she went on, such organisation or government should do so through a trustworthy and notable NGO that is accessible to the widows at the urban and rural areas.
Quoting Psalm 68:5 from the Bible, which says: “God is a father of the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in His holy habitation,” she advised the widows and their children to always be close to God.