Chinwe Bode-Akinwande’s widow’s mite

On Saturday August 3, hopes of hundreds of under-privileged widows within Okun-Ilado community of Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State were rekindled when the Chinwe Bode-Akinwande (CBA) Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, empowered them with business grants, food-items, clothings, scholarships for their children and free medical treatments.

Mrs. Chinwe Bode-Akinwande, founder of the foundation, said the one-day outreach held at the palace of Baale of Okun-Ilado community was in commemoration of the 2019 United Nations’ International Widows’ Day and was supported by First Bank of Nigeria. According to Chinwe, her foundation currently has over 600 widows on its profile with children of about 90 per cent of the women already dropped out of school because of lack of funds. “So, even if it’s the basic education we are able to give to them, they can build on it. We don’t want children who should be in schools on the streets because their mothers cannot afford school fees. Who knows if the future president is among them? Every child should have access to education and a good life and that is what CBA Foundation intends to achieve,” she said.

Chinwe further called on the government to implement and enforce the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP) which has the protection of widows in the country. She stressed that the government needs to create more awareness about the act for widows to know their rights and also for people to thread with caution.