By Ibironke Ariyo
The Still Waters Foundation has distributed food items and clothing materials to over 250 vulnerable widows in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to support their efforts in catering for their families.
Speaking during the event on Saturday in Abuja, the Founder, Dr Femi Lanre-Oke said that the basis for diligently driving the foundation was derived from the passion and need to impact the lives.
He emphasised the importance of food in the lives of people, especially the underprivileged widows who were facing a series of societal challenges and had gone through so much pain, and discrimination and had lost hope.
Lanre-Oke said that the foundation was not just all about helping the widows and the less privileged but also discovering and empowering the youths to become ambassadors of peace and great leaders.
According to him, the significance of the widow’s empowerment event was that it helped the widows to be encouraged.
“This is because the first thing about a widow is that you see a person whose joy has been taken away. The husband is no more and more likely to be the strength of that family.
“So when you identify with people like that, you are fulfilling the covenant of God In Isaiah 58, when God was describing the kind of fast he wants his children to observe, to identify with the need before and the less privileged.
“So when you see widow, you see somebody whose joy was stolen, you see somebody whose strength failed, you see somebody who is now alone in taking that.
“So when you identify with that, you bring encouragement to them, you bring support to them, you are bringing strength to them. That is the major thing, “he said.
Lanre-Oke, who doubled as the Lead Pastor, of Jesus Praise Evangelical Ministries International (JPEMI) urged the government to identify with the windows and their children for the growth of the nation.
He also urged the government at all levels to make life easy and convenient for them adding that granting them access to soft loans for a business would go a long way.
He said “If you look at how these widows can also be helped apart from this empowerment is in different ways.
“If these widows are strengthed number one, they take care of their children. If they are encouraged and supported, they make provisions for them, make assistance for them.
“And their children now become strong too. The children can also do something that becomes relevant in the society.
“If they are left alone, the children can grow wayward and contribute menace to the society.
“But when you identify with these widows and they are helped, then they also help the society in turn by raising their children.
Lanre-Oke reiterated the commitment of the foundation to continue to impact the lives of the less privileged people in the society and other vulnerable.
In their separate remarks, Some of the widows expressed gratitude to the foundation as some were seen with smiles and relief on their faces.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that aside from the food items and clothing materials donated, five widows were empowered with two hairdressing machines, two tailoring machines, and one melon grinding machine respectively.
The Foundation promised to help the widows with paying the children’s school fees and set up some of them with businesses among others in the next edition.
