Concerned about the country’s economic hardship, the Abubakar Bukola Saraki Foundation has announced plans to assist hundreds of widows in Kwara Central and Kwara South senatorial districts in Kwara State.
In doing this, the foundation has organised a business seminar for the affected widows in Ilorin, the state capital, in order to equip them on business acumen.
The foundation’s Regional Director in the North-central zone, Mr. Musa Aliyu, disclosed this in Ilorin Tuesday during an empowerment project seminar organised for the affected beneficiaries
He said: “The project is to provide widows with skills and resources necessary for sustainable economic independence and to make them self sufficient.”
Apart from this, he added that: “The project is also to support widows to attain their right to protection, inclusion and participation in the society where they will have the ability to cater for their needs and sustain their livelihood.
“Research has consistently shown that widowhood is not only an emotional loss but also a severe economic and social burden for many women and the ABS Foundation has been working round the clock to ensure the widows’ fulfilment and thereby making life worth living for them in the society.”
The director opined further that the selection of the beneficiaries are not based on any political affiliations but purely on their widowhood and such should be supported to add more values to the society.
According to Aliyu, “The first batch of these beneficiaries are from Kwara Central and Kwara South senatorial districts, while the Kwara north senatorial district would be attended to in the next few days.
“At the foundation, we believe that helping widows in our little way will make a remarkable difference in their lives.
“Our goal with this project is to support 70,000 widows in Nigeria over the next few years, and this pilot will benefit over 200 widows from Kwara Central and Kwara South in the following ways: enterprise management training, empowerment components, and networking and knowledge sharing.”
“Our guiding principle is to assist individuals and communities in succeeding, and we remain open to partnerships and collaboration that will advance the cause.”
Aliyu therefore appealed to the beneficiaries to remain focused, adding that: “Whatever support they will be given should be tailored towards their business development and not used for buying jewelries and social events.”