Report for Widows Empowerment Project in Nigeria.
“No woman should lose her status, livelihood or property, when her husband dies; yet millions of widows in our world face persistent abuse, discrimination, disinheritance and destitution”. United Nation’s Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon,
This past March, I traveled to Nigeria to begin the first leg of my plan to solve this issue. At the time, I was able to raise the funds to empower 20 widows in the community to begin their businesses. Bastion Foundation’s Food on the Table Project: (Micro Financing) for the economic empowerment of poor widows and less privileged women took place in Nigeria from March 27 – 29 of March 2017. The workshop was a great success.
I made it my own personal obligation change the lives of these widows and their families. I was also committed to helping to restore the dignity of these women classified as outcasts and women of no substance.
The program was divided into three phases as follows;
1. Ministration (Prayer, Praise and Worship session)
2. Counseling Sessions
3. Micro-financing Workshop and Provision of funds for a small business.
Participants
Participants were selected with the help of our partner, Fountain Charity of Nigeria, based on the widows who were facing very hard times. 20 widows with urgent need to start making an income to take care of their children were chosen. Fountain Charities interviewed the community leaders. The leaders were asked for the names of very poor widows in their villages which was supplies. One of those widows chosen was very sick and could not afford to pay for a doctor’s clinic visit and cost of prescription. When she heard about BFI visit, she managed to come unknown to her, that her life will be changed with the money she will receive to start a small business. She stepped out with faith not minding that she was very sick. She just wanted to attend the workshop to learn.
The Goal:
Using Biblical principles BFI goal is to;
- Empower widows economically to support their families, feed their children and provide school fees. (Psalm 68 Verse 5)
- To restore the dignity of these women that the society regarded as outcasts. Many of the widows have already died of AIDS as a result of prostitution. (Proverbs 31 Verse 21)
- Lead them to Christ, to have a wonderful relationship with God as their special Husband (Isaiah 54 Verses 4-5)
Phases of the Mission Ministry
Ministration
This was a fantastic time with God. The service time comprised of worship; songs and praises and prayer sessions.
The message for the service were as follows;
That Jesus loves them.
He died for them and took away their sins.
God had answered their prayers by changing their lives and that of their children, providing an opportunity for them to make a living.
They were reminded that God is the husband of widows and the father of fatherless for their children.
Two illustrations were used for them: The Mustard seed (Matthew 13 Verse 31-32) and the woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8 Verse 48) who just touched the garment of Jesus Christ and was healed and made whole again. Her faith made the big difference.
The women were filled with joy, they sang and danced to songs and praises to express their gratitude to God for the great thing He has done for them.
Counseling Session
This is for individual and group counseling. The individual counseling is in a private session while the group is for everybody. The counselors pick a topic of common interest. The widows were also asked to pick a topic that was discussed. They express their concerns and everybody contributes to the discussion.
Micro-financing workshop
The women were taught how to start and run a successful business using biblical principles. They were also taught how to be a good Christian business woman, how to manage money wisely and finally all the dos and don’ts of running a business. They were provided with some bible verses that will guide them in their lives journey with Christ and their business endeavor.
Provision of funds for a small business.
At the end of the workshop, each widow received the equivalent of $100 to start a small business. The money is free and cannot be paid back. It is a gift. The women were surprised and shocked with the money given to them. They were not told that money will be involved. No mention of my visit was disclosed to cut down on the number of widows that can be funded immediately on this trip. Out of the 20 women that were invited, 17 showed up. Three women not invited showed up too and by the grace of God these three women took the place of those that did not show up. God is awesome. The widows could not stop thanking God. They were filled with joy and happiness. What a blessed day for everybody.
Before the money was handed over to the widows, myself, the CEO of Fountain Charity and a widow prayed over the money that, it will serve its purpose to change the lives of the families that received it. A lot of prayers were said by the women for those that provided the money, those that prayed for them and their families, journey mercy for me and my loyalty to God to obey His command.
Resource Persons
Ms. Nwaka was one of the resource persons that spoke to the women via telephone. She was a widow whose husband died when she was 32 years old with two children. She gave a testimony on how she survived the death of her husband starting a small business. The small business was successful due to her determination, sacrifice and strong faith and trust in God. She talked about how she sent her children to college and today they are very successful in their careers. She pointed out to the women that their body is the temple of God and should not be defiled from now because of money to feed their children. She advised them to work hard and use the money wisely since to whom much is given, much is expected.
Ms. talked about how a discussion she had with me last summer made her to start a small poultry business. She raised quite a good number of chicken and made a lot of profit. She discontinued when she ran into a family problem that forced her to use all the money to solve the family problem. She advised the women to invest the money in starting a business because the support from BFI was a life time opportunity. She told the women how she attended a micro-financing workshop many years back and was given small money to start a very small business. She did not invest in any business. She used the money to buy her children some food and snacks for her children on her way home. She did not consider the money big enough to start a business. A couple of years later the same organization came to town so she attended the workshop. Many of the women who attended the previous workshop gave testimonies on how God blessed the widow’s mite money they were given, like a mustard seed and God’s hand was upon it, that small money made them very rich.
At the end of the workshops, the women danced the local traditional dance. Everybody was happy. They laughed at my dance moves which did not match what others were dancing. They promised to teach me the steps on my next visit.
Report from Fountain Charities
Fountain Charities, the local nonprofit organization that BFI partnered with for logistics and follow-up, reported that these widows are successfully running their businesses and have been given a new reason to smile. Here is the type of businesses the widows are doing; selling break and lunch meals in the market, beverages, fruits, fresh fish, homemade snacks, poultry, vegetables, kerosene and food wraps for dinner. Fountain Charities visits the ladies once a month to know how they are doing, what problems facing them and how they can be helped to maximize their profits. Pictures were taken and some of the women were interviewed.
All the donations went towards start-up business funding, running the workshop (venue, rentals, refreshments), the stipend for local collaborators (Fountain Charities) and board & lodging.
As of April 2017, 42 widows are on queue to be trained and funded to start their own small businesses. BFI is in the process of raising funds to go back and help the 42 widows registered with BFI.
