NGO distributes food items, cash to widows at yuletide
The Women of Like Minds Empowerment Initiative (WOLMEI) has distributed foodstuffs, clothing, cash and other essential items to widows in Abuja as part of its Christmas outreach. Presenting the items on behalf of the organisation in Abuja on Wednesday, the Founder and President of WOLMEI, Lauretta Achudume, said the initiative was aimed at bringing relief […]
The Women of Like Minds Empowerment Initiative (WOLMEI) has distributed foodstuffs, clothing, cash and other essential items to widows in Abuja as part of its Christmas outreach.
Presenting the items on behalf of the organisation in Abuja on Wednesday, the Founder and President of WOLMEI, Lauretta Achudume, said the initiative was aimed at bringing relief to widows and putting smiles on their faces during the festive season.
“Every quarter, we organise different outreach programmes. This is one of our end-of-year activities to reach out to widows in the FCT. We have provided foodstuffs, cash and clothing to enable them celebrate Christmas with their families. This is our way of showing that WOLMEI cares,” she said.
Achudume explained that beyond seasonal support, the organisation has continued to invest in the long-term empowerment of widows through education and skills acquisition.
“We have supported the education of their children and trained some of them in entrepreneurial skills to help them earn a living. Some have learnt how to make Ankara bags and shoes, produce soap and acquire other skills.
We have also built leadership capacity among some of them and remained committed to advocacy for women and children. WOLMEI was established in 2013,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, the leader of Fountain of Hope Widows, Bwari, Sandra Agbure, expressed appreciation to the foundation for its consistent support.
“I want to thank WOLMEI on behalf of all the widows here today. They have given us foodstuffs, clothing and cash to celebrate Christmas with our children, and we are truly grateful,” she said.
Agbure added that the organisation’s empowerment programmes had positively transformed her life. “I was among the women empowered financially during one of their economic empowerment programmes. I invested the support in my business, and today I make Ankara bags and shoes and also produce soap. I now teach other women in this group the skills I learnt,” she said.
As a token of appreciation, the Fountain of Hope Widows, Bwari, presented a plaque to Achudume for her contributions and support to widows over the years.
Also speaking, a board member of WOLMEI, Tumini Akogun, encouraged the widows to continue using the skills they had acquired and to seek new opportunities that would make them more productive and self-reliant.