A call has gone out to well-meaning members of the public to come together and lend helping hands to widows rather than subject them to all forms of social degradation.
A former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly and the present Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. (Mrs) Lola Akande made the call on Tuesday during an empowerment programme by LAfoundation for some vulnerable women in Lagos State.
Dr. Akande who established LAfoundation as an NGO in 2014, explained that the foundation was founded to see to the wellbeing and upliftment of the generality of the people, especially women and the less privileged.
She decried several cultural practices that often compound the agony and pain experienced by widows especially with respect to the incursion of extended family members.According to her, the empowerment of an additional 80 widows by LAfoundation was aimed at alleviating the standard of living of the beneficiaries and make them self-reliant.
The Commissioner assured the beneficiaries of the empowerment initiative and the general public that the intervention from LAfoundation would be sustained and expanded in the future, expressing the hope that more public-spirited individuals and organisations would join hands with the foundation to make a more lasting impact in the lives of this category of our women.
Akande encouraged all widows and the vulnerable members of the society to continue to pursue their dreams with renewed strength without unnecessarily feeling disadvantaged.
“I urge you to tap from the opportunities to engage in profitable ventures by putting to good use, the token cash being given to you today. Much more is expected of the five of you who are being specially empowered by Lola Akande Foundation in conjunction with Power Oil, you can fend for yourself and your children and even contribute to the socio-economic progress of the society as you ultimately look forward to better days ahead,” the Commissioner submitted.
