A Nigerian charity has trained and equipped 250 widows with skills and resources to help them become financially independent, marking International Widows’ Day with the theme “Empower Her: From Loss to Leadership”.
The Chadash Empowerment Foundation provided four-day vocational training programmes for 150 widows in Ilaro-Yewa, Ogun State, and 100 widows in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. The celebration took place on Sunday, 22nd June 2025, at Wuse.
Each beneficiary received equipment, including sewing machines, makeup kits, hairdressing tools, grinding machines, foodstuffs and N20,000 cash to help launch their own businesses.
Mrs Temitope Adeola, the foundation’s founder and wife of Senator Solomon Adeola Yayi, explained that the organisation was established specifically to help vulnerable young widows and orphans. She said the foundation wanted to transform how society views widows, not as victims, but as “powerful agents of change”.
“We believe that every widow has the right to grieve and right to grow. To lead. To build. To thrive,” Mrs Adeola said during the empowerment ceremony.
The training covered hairdressing, leatherwork, tailoring, entrepreneurship and makeup artistry, with participants receiving hands-on instruction from professionals and business coaching alongside their starter kits.
Mrs Adeola highlighted the scale of the challenge facing widows globally, citing International Women’s Society figures showing over 258 million widows worldwide, including 15 million in Nigeria. These women often face economic hardship, social stigma and legal discrimination after losing their spouses.
She criticised the lack of awareness among widows about their legal rights, particularly under Nigeria’s Violence Against Person (Prohibition) Act of 2015, which criminalises harmful traditional practices against widows with penalties of up to two years imprisonment or fines of N500,000.
“In some regions, widows are denied inheritance, cast out of homes, or subjected to inhumane cultural practices that silence and marginalise them,” she explained.
Mrs Adeola called for better access to education, economic opportunities, legal rights and social inclusion for widows, emphasising their potential contributions to society as single parents, community leaders, entrepreneurs, caregivers and advocates for justice.
Mrs Janet Jiya, representing senators’ wives, praised Mrs Adeola’s regular support for underprivileged widows and orphans through the foundation. She encouraged beneficiaries to maximise the opportunities provided and use their success to help others.
This marks the fourth year the foundation has held its widow empowerment programme during International Widow’s Day celebrations, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to supporting vulnerable women in Nigerian communities.
