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Some of the widows
By Akpan David, Calabar
Widows in Cross River State have been asked to form themselves into cooperatives to enable them access credits, empowerment funds and other assistance.
They are also encouraged to form leadership groups so that they can be well coordinated and monitored in case where loans and other credit facilities are extended to them.
There are over 40,000 widows in the State as at June this year, according to The Imah Nsa Adegoke Foundation.
To mark this year’s International Widows Day, the Foundation gathered them in Calabar where 1960 of them have been earmarked across the 18 LGAs of the state to receive N30,000 each as a form of economic empowerment.
The empowerment programme which started 11 years ago will be in two phases, these 1960 edition being the first phase.
The announcement was the highpoint of the celebration which witnessed the re-launch of SEWiNG (Scheme to Empower Widows in Nigeria) Fund.
Coordinating trustee of the Foundation, Ima Nsa said 10 widows have been selected from the 196 wards of the state for the empowerment.
The empowerment is in collaboration with Goodness Widows Outreach, and good supports from kind-hearted and well-to-do members of the public.
She said, “We have reached out to good numbers of dignitaries and our good supporters who are extending supports to sponsor cohorts of widows whom we have encouraged to form cooperatives and ward leaderships for easy access to funds and loans.
“We are committed to unwrapping access to financial support for Sustainable Widows’ Enterprises, which will ensure financial independence for these women.”
Nsa said they are adopting a system that combines modern microfinance lending with traditional ‘Osusu’ styled oversight and guaranteeing.
According to her, each cluster of beneficiaries under the Scheme will range from 100 to 240 widows covering at least one or two LGAs.
She called on persons who are interested or persuaded to intervene in the cause of uplifting the fortunes of these widows by contributing to the SEWilNG Fund either directly or by adopting a cluster of widows.
As a way of helping the widows to alleviate the plight, former First Lady of the state, Mrs Onari Duke promised to introduce the widows and arrays of entrepreneurship trainings and o enable them become economically self-reliant.
She encouraged the widows to team up and remove the cloak of self-pity and launch out.
