By Adeola Shittu
No fewer than 3,000 widows from across Ogun State received cash grants and vocational tools on Sunday as the Chadash Empowerment Foundation marked the fifth edition of its annual International Widows' Day Empowerment Programme in Abeokuta.
The intervention, founded by Mrs. Temitope Adeola, wife of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (YAYI), saw 2,000 widows receive ₦50,000 each, amounting to ₦100 million in business grants, while hundreds of others were presented with vocational equipment to boost their means of livelihood.
The event, held at the Ake Palace Amphitheatre, Abeokuta, attracted prominent personalities, government officials, traditional rulers, women leaders and community stakeholders who commended the Foundation's consistent investment in the welfare of vulnerable women.
Beneficiaries who completed vocational training received starter packs including sewing machines, grinding machines, hair dryers, makeup kits, deep freezers and gas cookers to enable them establish or expand their businesses.
Speaking at the programme, the Founder of Chadash Empowerment Foundation, Mrs. Temitope Adeola, said the initiative was conceived to restore hope, dignity and economic independence to widows who often face financial hardship following the loss of their spouses.
She noted that empowerment goes beyond charity, stressing that equipping widows with practical skills, financial support and sustainable livelihoods remains the Foundation's major objective.
According to her, the annual programme has continued to expand in scope and impact, empowering more than 15,000 widows across Ogun State and the Federal Capital Territory over the last five years, making it one of the largest widow-focused humanitarian interventions in the country.
Mrs. Adeola urged beneficiaries to maximise the opportunities provided, build successful businesses and become employers of labour in their communities.
The programme also received goodwill messages from the Wife of the Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun, and the former Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Titi Oseni-Gomez, who praised the Foundation for complementing government's efforts in reducing poverty among vulnerable women. In her goodwill message, Alhaja Tawa Ali, wife of the Oyo State APC governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli, praised Mrs. Temitope Adeola for sustaining the annual widows' empowerment programme, saying she hopes to replicate the initiative in Oyo State if her husband is elected governor.
Several beneficiaries, many of whom struggled to hold back tears, described the intervention as life-changing, saying the financial support and vocational tools would help them rebuild their lives and cater for their families.
Established to provide sustainable support for widows and orphans, the Chadash Empowerment Foundation has, over the years, expanded its interventions from skills acquisition and business support to advocacy, healthcare outreach and welfare programmes aimed at restoring dignity to vulnerable members of society.
As the fifth edition drew to a close, organisers reaffirmed their commitment to reaching even more widows in subsequent editions, maintaining that every woman deserves the opportunity to recover from loss, rebuild her life and achieve financial independence.
