By Mohamed Foday Conteh
Osman Koroma, Head of Media and Communication at the Jamil and Nyanga Jaward Foundation (JNJF) has said that over 800 widows are set to benefit from their micro-business start-up scheme.
Koroma told Politico on Friday 29th October this year, that the funding will be provided after successful partnership with other humanitarian organisations.
He disclosed that Adopt-a-Widow is a programme with many packages including a 4 million Leone micro business start-up for widows.
The Foundation has been operating for over 3 years now and has provided other developmental projects which included a solar development initiative in Moyamba district. With support from their sponsors, they have also made available over 1,000 educational materials for underprivileged children and youths.
Koroma said they have also supported a farming project for widows in Grafton, with some widows having benefited from shops they provided for them for their daily sustenance.
He affirmed that they are looking forward for more partners for the programme to be successful.
The Foundation, on Friday last week, completed the registration and verification of 85 widows at Dwarzark Community in Freetown.
The Tribal Head in the community, Chief Samuel J.S. Pessima said that he was delighted for the project, fully aware of the suffering the widows have to endure.
The Chief admonished the widows not to disappoint the organization but utilize well the opportunities available.
Speaking during the registration and verification programme, Sitta Boima, one of the widows said that she is yet to even tell her child he has lost his father. He said that she has not received help from any family member to date.
Abibatu Vamboi, another widow, said that a year after marriage her husband died and left her with a six month old baby. She said that her husband's family drove her out of her matrimonial home just a month after her husband's passing.
Agnes Kakpa, also a widow and resident of Dwarzark said her late partner denied her pregnancy and it was her mother who helped her cater for her sickly child. She said that since her mother also passed away, things have not been easy for her and the child.
Marie Bell, a member of the Foundation, then went on to introduce some of the beneficiaries of an earlier programme.
Agnes Wagay, a beneficiary from Congo Town, said she got married in 1996 and had 6 children,her last child born in 2010. She said her husband left her for a journey, just days after the birth of their last child but died from a tragic road accident.She said she went through a lot to take care of her children after her husband died.
Wagay narrated to fellow widows how she had an accident on her way from a business trip in Guinea. She said she made the trip just to fend for her children. The accident left her in a four day coma with metals having to be placed on her shoulder during surgery. She admonished the other widows to be resilient.
Johnta Fonti Kanu explained how she got married at the age of 9 in 1984,a victim of child marriage, and had to run away from Lunsar to Freetown to escape her marriage, but was brought back. She advised the widows not to encourage early marriage for their children, irrespective of the situation they are in. She said her husband died of natural causes.
The woman spoke of her husband’s polygamous life and how she and her five children were driven from her marital home due to pressure from the other wife. She had to move to Wellington with her children and had very little to eat.
Augusta Savage, a beneficiary, said she was 34 when she got married and moved in with her husband at Fourah Bay. She said her husband fell ill and she suffered a lot with her child after he succumbed to the illness.
She recounted how all family members deserted her and struggled to send her daughter to school. She supported her child until she went to class five and got a scholarship.
The daughter, Maseray Savage told the gathering how she was just 8 months when her father died. She said that she felt bad seeing her friends and playmates with their fathers, and since day one it has been her mother supporting her.
Anna Vine, Programme Director at World Hope International commended the Foundation for their effort and her being a Christian it is part of her belief that widows should be assisted. She said t she was moved by the inspirational words from the beneficiaries. Vine drew lessons from the bible to teach the widows about their importance and need to give back.
800 widows from Dwazark, Kroobay, Moa Wharf, Crab Town and Ascension Town have been enrolled into the programme .
Copyright © Politico Online 01/11/21
