The Second Lady, Hajia Samira Bawumia, has donated food and clothing to about 200 poor widows in rural communities in the Northern region.
The items including bags of rice, cans of cooking oil, outfits of locally made textile, detergents and assorted drinks were donated under her charity foundation, Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Foundation (SEHF).
The beneficiaries came from several communities in Kumbungu and Sagnarigu to converge at Yong Duuni, a village near Tamale, Tuesday, December 18, where they received the donation.
They are also members of the Northern Widows Agricultural Foundation (NWAF), a non governmental gender-based organisation working to empower and increase the resilience of widows in Ghana, with specific reference to agricultural business and participation in governance and leadership.
Addressing the widows, Hajia Samira offered prayers to God to mitigate the plights of the poor women. “May Allah bless you well. May He bring relief to you and may He give you what your hearts desire. May these items bring you joy, at least, for the period that you continue to enjoy them”.
She reiterated her commitment towards ensuring women empowerment through literacy, creation of opportunities and access to healthcare.
She played up some of the achievements of her organisation with a particular reference to the distribution of some 10,000 birth kits to expectant mothers for infection-free delivery in the East Gonja municipality and other parts of the country.
“At the heart of empowerment is education”, she said. “Education is a leveler for all of us. I am passionate about humanitarian work because I know the difference it makes to people, I know that in our lives, everybody at one point in their lives was helped by another person. So it’s important that if God has helped you, you also be a blessing to others, that’s why I go the length and breadth of this country to support our women”.
The Northern Widows Agricultural Foundation is currently engaged in the mobilisation of widows within the northern savanna ecological zone as part of its strategy to reach out to re-orient them into engagement that are in itself beneficial to them and their families and their communities.
NWAF is currently operating in Sagnarigu, Savelugu, Kumbungu, Tolon and Tamale. The women are put into trade-based priority groups to make allocation of resources and training easier.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Eliasu Tanko
