NGO trains widows on skills acquisition

 

The Zarephath Women of God’s Plan Missions (ZWGM), an NGO, has started training widows on free skills acquisition to make them gainfully engaged and enhance their financial independence.

The three-day skills acquisition training held on Dec. 1, 2 and 3 was part of the activities to mark the one-year anniversary of the organisation.

Pastor (Mrs) Ruth Cyprian, the President of ZWGM, said the training was anticipated not only to bring about financial relief to the windows on catering for their families, but also to improve their living standards.

She said the widows were trained in different skills acquisition which included production of perfumes, weavon oil, cake and chapman making.

Cyprian said that the training will bring about relief and less workload on the part of the widows who would leverage on it to earn a living.

She explained that the Foundation’s vision was to strive to create a future in which widows would be viewed, cared, valued by their community, and equipped to fulfill their unique purpose in life despite the death of their spouses.

According to her, the objective is to empower widows in achieving their ambitions, create an equal world, fulfill their potentials and be resilience in the face of adversity.

“We have widows who are managing businesses, but they don’t have training opportunities, mentorship and even resources to run it.

“Today, we have trained the widows in some skill acquisitions which they can easily go into using little capital.

“The whole idea behind the training was to see how the widows could be more independent, innovative and creative in their businesses so as to be able to carter for themselves and their children instead of begging for help at all times.

“This will promote the overall well-being of the widows, put food on their table and equally enhance their living standards” Cyprian said.

Also speaking at the event, Mrs Susan Onyekwere, a Beneficiary of the training, described it as an ‘uncommon opportunity’, which the windows should leverage on to earn a living.

Onyekwere, also a widow, said that widows are in need of activities and funds that would provide the needed tools to help build the future of their children.

She appreciated the organisation for the gesture, urging widows to develop competencies and believe in themselves, while utilising every opportunity that comes their way.

Another widow, Mrs Kelechi Innocent, said that lack of access to capital is usually a challenge that prevents most widows from leveraging on the skill acquisition trainings they learnt.

Innocent said that some widows would have loved to engage in one business venture or the other, but could not due to the inability to get the required capital to start their businesses.

She, therefore, urged the Lagos State Government to intensify efforts to follow-up with the widows after having empowered them to ensure judicious utilisation of the funds/grants they receive.

She explained that some of the empowerment funds and grants meant for the widows have been diverted to other purposes due to lack of follow-up and monitoring.

She commended the state government for all it had been doing for the widows and urged the government to do more to put joy on the faces of the widows across the state.

“Many widows have four to six children. Most of these children are the destitute and miscreants on the street due to the lack of money to provide for their basic needs and education requirements.

“Let the government do more by providing sponsorship and scholarship for these children to enable them fulfill their potentials in life,” Innocent said.

An official of the NGO, Mrs Florence Metu, said that the organisation had put joy on the faces of many widows through its numerous programmes and gestures.

Metu said that many children of widows in school are currently under the scholarship of the organisation, saying that these are children who dropped out of school due to the lack of funds.

She, however, called on well-meaning Nigerians, philanthropists, organisations and churches to extend their helping hands to the widows and needy in the society.

The ZWGM is a non-governmental organisation, at LivingWay Covenant Church, 121 Lawson Road, Lagos, that cares for the welfare of windows with a view to ensuring their recognition in the society.