Follow Us on Google
From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
They are women of different age grades, tribes and cultures but united in their pains. All of them, the old and the young, have lost their husbands and are now shouldering the responsibility of taking care of their children.
For the 50 widows, that responsibility is a big one, especially as they are not financially strong enough to shoulder it. That was why their joy knew no bounds when the Kukah Foundation, in conjunction with the Fountain of Life Church, organised a one-month free skills training programme for them recently in Makurdi, Benue State.
They were trained in different skills, from making household products such as soap, shampoo to tumeric powder, among others. They were also taught how to bake cakes and confectionery.
The widows were also given a token of N50,000 each to start up a business of their own and become self-reliant.
Nnena Donko, a young mother of two, who lost her husband in 2011 while she was only 17 years old and naive, said she thought that her world had ended when her husband died.
“This programme is for me because I have been praying and asking God for a miracle since the death of my husband 11 years ago. I didn’t go to school but my children are very intelligent. Now I can go back home and fend for my two kids,” she said.
Another beneficiary, Mrs. Theresa Manyi, mother of three, who lost her husband nine years ago, could not contain her joy. She recalled that since the death of her husband things had not been easy with her, especially having to grapple with the challenge of taking care of her children with little or no support at all from the family.
She said: “I am very grateful to Kukah Foundation. I didn’t know they were serious initially. I’m happy to be part of the training, especially learning a skill, free of charge, from the foundation. I was given N50,000 to go and start a business.”
Another widow, Mrs. Igbudu Martina, who lost her husband in 2010 and was left with five children, was also happy about the programme. She said: “I am glad because it is not easy with widows, especially having to take care of their children. We can now go back home to start up a businessess of our own. I call on the state government to organise such programmes for widows in the state.”
Others included Catherine Joji, mother of four; Mary Ochigbo, mother of two; and Victoria Jatau, mother of two. They all expressed their joy and appreciation to the Kukah Foundation and Fountain of Life Church for the gesture, even as they promised to make judicious use of the funds.
The elated beneficiaries, who burst into songs of praise, danced their hearts out.
Speaking during the presentation held at the Pope John Paul Pastoral Centre in Makurdi, the project manager of the Kukah Foundation, Miss Hajara Waziri, noted that the project was conceptualised by the foundation and the Fountain of Life Church to support Christian widows in northern Nigeria.
She said the programme, which was tagged “Building resilience and supporting Christian widows adversely affected by violent conflict in Makurdi, Benue State,” aims to pull 50 widows out of poverty in the state.
“The project is conceptualized by the Kukah Centre and Fountain of Life Church to support Christian Widows in northern Nigeria. The first phase was in Kaduna last year, where we trained 25 widows. We are now training 50 Christian widows from various denominations.
“We came to Benue after a series of research. After the training, we are presenting start-ups to the widows to start up their business. I am urging the benefiting widows to use the money judiciously to improve their lives,” she said.
On his part, Pastor Simeon Nyihemba of ECWA, North Bank, Makurdi, commended the organisers of the project for the gesture even as he enjoined the beneficiaries to use the skills they have acquired as well as the money to positively impact on their lives.
Giving an overview of the training, the trainer, Mrs. Vivian Ashami, disclosed that 24 women were trained in the production of household products while 26 others were trained in baking to make a total of 50 widows who underwent the four-week training.
Ashami said: “We had 24 women under the household group and they made eight different products, including liquid soap, hair shampoo, hair food, coconut oil, tumeric oil, germicides and tablet soaps.
“We also trained 26 women under the baking section. They made 13 products, including cake, cookies and varieties of small chops.
“I have been into training for a long time but had never been in training with the crop of women we have this time. Despite language barrier, the training went well. We trained them in baking and soap-making. Most of them already have their business names.”
