A Non-Governmental Organisation in Lagos State, His Marvellous Grace Support Foundation, has charged widows in Nigeria on the need to be self-reliant.
This is even as the group gave out palliatives to widows in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, as part of efforts to commemorate the 2020 International Widows’ Day.
The widows received N5, 000 cash, each, as a palliative for their upkeep.
Speaking at the commemoration, which was titled ‘Surviving Widowhood’, the guest speaker, Adeleke Adesanya, called on the government to give more attention to widows in the country.
He stressed that widows remained heroines in every society, especially as they were responsible for the upkeep of their families after the demise of their husbands.
“Widows are heroines of our society. And for this, the government needs to do more to make them happy,” he said.
Adesanya also encouraged the widows to live a better life to overcome the loneliness associated with the demise of their husbands.
“You must be strong to pick up from where your husbands stopped. As a matter of fact, when the man dies, you miss him so much due to his responsibilities and others. And now that he is no more, will you die like that? No! For this reason, you must forge ahead and be strong with a means of survival. If your kids are still young, you must work hard to ensure they are well raised.”
Meanwhile, one of the facilitators at the programme, Christiana Akinola, tasked the women to guide against cancer diseases.
According to her, it is necessary for women to imbibe preventive measures to fight against the disease.
“At this age, you must strive to avoid cancer. It is a disease we must protect ourselves against. Therefore, we must be encouraged to do daily checks on our breasts to discover this early for possible treatment,” she said.
Meanwhile, Adesanya, in his second address to the widows, tasked them to be involved in their children’s lives as a means of preventing them from rapists.
He said, “Being actively involved in a child’s life can make warning signs of sexual abuse more obvious and help the child feel more comfortable coming to you if something is not right. If you see or hear something that causes concern, you can take action to protect your child.
“Ask them what they did during the day and who they did it with. Who did they sit with at lunchtime? What games did they play after school? Did they enjoy themselves? Know who your child is spending time with, including other children and adults. Ask your child about the kids they go to school with, the parents of their friends, and other people they may encounter, such as teammates or coaches. Talk about these people openly and ask questions so that your child can feel comfortable doing the same.”
