…Empowers 700 widows
ROCK of Ages Widows Empowerment Foundation, a Non-Government Organisation (NGO), Sunday put smiles of the faces of less than 2000 widows when it distributed food items and cash worth millions of naira to them.
The Founder of the Foundation, Bro Ignatius Newman, while
distributing the food items at a ceremony in Abuja, said the gesture was to enable these less-privileged persons in the
society enjoy the Christmas and New Year with the children.
Bro Newman disclosed that apart from this occasional distribution of food items to the women, the NGO has so far empowered over
700 widows to make them self-reliant.
He stated that the we
Omen were trained in
diverse vocational skill acquisition programmes and provided with seed money to start off on their own.
Daily Champion at the event gathered that many of the widows returned with testimonies of increases and blessings they have received through their trade, which included making of soap, snacks, air freshener, tailoring, weaving and other sundry household items.
Newman, who said he was excited seeing the
beneficiaries happy in the face of numerous challenges they face daily, called on well-meaning Nigerians to make it a duty to reach out to these less-privilege group of people in
the society.
According to him, “this is the greatest thing of my life. Just to see them happy; I’m happy and it makes me to sleep well. Because making somebody else happy is the greatest thing one can do in this life”.
The Foundation he said has over 1, 410 registered widows that food items like rice are shared to on monthly basis while some of them are selected at a
particular time for training and provided with equipment and seed money.
The founder however advised the widows not to lose hope, saying widowhood was not a curse but another phase of life that require
encouragement and strength to carry on.
“That your husband died is not the end of the road”, he reminded them.
He also called on Nigerians during this yuletide to come out of their comfort zone to reach out to the less privileged, showing them love, which he noted was the significant
of the Christmas.
Many of the beneficiaries commended the foundation for the kind gesture while calling on Nigerians to also come to their aid.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Agnes Japheth who spoke to Daily Champion, commended the Rock of Ages Widow Empowerment Foundation, for wiping her tears and empowering her to be self-reliant.
She disclosed that when she lost her husband last year, someone introduced her to the Foundation and that through the training she received on soap making, making of air freshener, beads, cakes and host of others, she is now established and training other fellow widows.
