Channel For Widow Relief Initiative (CFWRI), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that caters for widows and orphans on Thursday distributed foodstuff, clothes and cash to 250 widows in Ibadan.
It was reported that CFWRI distributed the items during its 9th annual Ramadan Iftaar presentation.
Alhaja Fadhilah Balogun, Founder of CFWRI, also a widow said widows and orphans were vulnerable and go through several challenges, making it difficult to make ends meet.
According to Balogun, CFWRI has been empowering widows in various vocations for over nine years and appealed for assistance from spirited individuals to perform its enormous task and grow the organisation.
She said that she decided to establish the NGO; having experienced challenges faced by widows and orphans but was fortunate to survive.
“This CFWRI was established in November 2011 by me, being a widow who has experienced the pains of widowhood but fortunate enough to survive the challenges.
“I felt the best thing to do was to help the less privileged, who are widows like myself, so that they can take initiative from my lifestyle and live in dignity.
“What we discovered in the society is that some widows don’t have sustainable income and end up engaging in immoral behaviour to make ends meet,” Balogun said.
She explained that the NGO apart from distributing food items to widows annually also empowered them in different skills.
The CFWRI founder revealed that the organisation just acquired a parcel of land for green house agriculture, estimated to cost N10 million.
“We need the sum of N10 million to buy three green houses and drill potable water, to enable widows to work and earn a living,” she said.
Mrs Rebecca Adepoju, a widow, who is also a mother of four, who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries, commended CFWRI for the gesture and prayed God to uplift the NGO.
Adepoju also solicited for government’s assistance to grow her nylon business.