20th September, 2010
At least, 2,500 widows in Oshodi Local Government, Lagos State have been empowered with means to make a living.
Special Assistant to the Governor of Lagos State on Christian Religious Matters Rev. Sam Ogedengbe gave out items ranging from toilet rolls, provisions and others to widows to trade with to make money.
According to him, before distributing the items to the widows, they asked them which business they were engaged in and then distributed to them such items to trade with. He added that cash was not given to the beneficiaries to avoid a situation where they would spend the money.
“Apart from the widows’ empowerment, we have empowerment programmes for youths to reduce the menace of area boys. Doing this will complement government’s programmes in the areas of health and job creation,†he said.
He added that about 2,500 widows were targeted in the current programme, adding that the widows’ empowerment programme had been on since 2007.
Some of the beneficiaries commended Ogedengbe for the gesture and called on private bodies and well-meaning Nigerians to come up with programmes aimed at empowering widows.
According to a beneficiary, Mrs. Funmilayo Adeniran, the programme has helped to boost her business and urged others to emulate Ogedengbe’s gesture and help the widows.
Mrs. Gloria Omoboyowa said she had been a beneficiary of the empowerment programme since inception, adding that last year, she was given some toilet rolls to sell, the proceeds from which she used to pay her children’s school fees.
Also, free medical screening was carried out on the widows, while drugs were distributed to patients who needed them.
