Mrs Ambode urges Nigerians to remember widows, others during yuletide

The wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, has charged Nigerians to use the festive season to reach out and show love by giving and sharing with others in the country.

She gave the charge recently at the 2017 Christmas Party and Widows Exhibition organised by the Rose of Sharon Foundation (RoSF) at the Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.

According to her, the festive period is a season of love and a time to give and share with others especially people in special conditions such as widows and orphans in the society.

Ambode noted that the festive period is the time to draw these people away from their worries and lift up their spirits by connecting with them.

“It is a time for us to be together; so please put all worries behind you, relax your minds and enjoy this moment”, she urged.

She encouraged the widows and orphans to put their trust in God saying when all hope seems lost and help too far away, He will suddenly appear and meet their needs as their Husband and Father.

Ambode who is the Grand Matron of the foundation, also commended them for their untiring efforts to improve the conditions of the widows, their children and orphans in all areas of life.

Speaking at the event, the founder of RoSF, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, said the foundation would continue to advocate for the rights of widows and orphans in the country, calling on all stakeholders to join them in the fight.

Alakija who highlighted some of their achievements during the period said that 2017 was a fruitful year for them.

According to her, the foundation’s empowerment programmme has benefitted widows from all the geopolitical zones of the country with over 1000 of them as beneficiaries and recipients of loans and scholarships for their children.

She enjoined them: “Wipe away you tear, roll up your sleeves, pray, believe and look for what you can do. Start doing something.”

At the event some widows testified how the foundation, through scholarship and interest free loans, has empowered them and turned around their situations.

To ensure safe health among them, founder, Cancer Awareness Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation, Mrs. Tolulope Falowo, gave away 100 vouchers to widows over 40 years of age to screen for free cancer screening.

Also, the CEO of Makemee Elegant, Mrs. Kehinde Okoroafor, offered to train 50 widows in producing wigs and weave-on to empower them.

To promote academic excellence among the children of the widows, the foundation also gave cash prizes to primary, secondary and tertiary students who distinguished themselves.

The student with the best result in the Bachelor’s degree category was, however, awarded a scholarship for further study with a cash prize of N50, 000.

At the event, the widows gave cultural performances in Yoruba, Igbo and Niger Delta languages to light up the celebration.