Widows have been advised by Chinwe Bode-Akinwande, President of the CBA Foundation, to invest their available funds in small enterprises and to use resourcefulness in their participation.
She gave the counsel lately to widows in the Lagos suburb of Abaranje.
She bemoaned the mistreatment that certain African societies, especially those in Nigeria, had inflicted upon widows and urged them not to lose hope because of the difficulties brought on by mistreatment from their late husband’s family members.
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They were tasked by Akinwande, whose Foundation supports impoverished widows and their kids, to better themselves and advance their abilities.
“Whatever you are doing, be resourceful, put in more effort, support yourself, and develop your skill,” she advised. Although these difficult times are transitory, they won’t last forever.
“Those in the government service should also be resourceful and excellent civil servants. In your business, be resourceful and a competent businesswoman. We advise them to do that. We ought to think positively and have confidence in ourselves.
Widows Might’s founder, Regina Ogbodo, said that her non-governmental organization empowers widows to start nano businesses so they can support themselves and their children. She also said that some widows are receiving a helping hand to lessen the hardships they are facing.
We offer the hand of fellowship to some widows in some regions of the country, such as Kano and Osun States, Ogbodo proposed. We provide popcorn makers, grinders, and sewing machines to widows so they can start small enterprises. We only share food at our Christmas celebrations with them.
“We encourage them to invest the money we provide them with in their businesses. We return to watch them in order to guarantee responsibility. Naturally, some people have failed, but we encourage them to try again.
“We are providing a soft loan of N10,000 to ten widows—not an actual sum of kuli kuli. I give them kuli kuli, which I make without any interest. We plan to begin this in January 2024,” she continued.
Amaechi Ifeoma, the founder of The Smile Initiative, regretted that widows had been ignored for so long and urged governments to support them during her speech at the occasion.
Due to their difficult situation, widows need our assistance. It pays to assist widows in such circumstances since they experience emotional and mental strain, Ifeoma stated.