Yuletide: Helpline Social Support Initiative Empowers Widows, Others

In the spirit of Christmas, the Helpline Social Support Initiative has reached out to the less privileged, and widows in Abuja with assorted food items, clothes, and other relief materials.

Some of the items distributed include: rice, salt, vegetable oil, wrappers, and other condiments to enable them to have a memorable yuletide celebration.

The foundation also empowered hundreds of women in skills acquisition like hat making (turban) to help them become self-reliant.

On the occasion, the Founder Helpline Social Support Initiative, Dr. Jumai Ahmadu said the essence is to continue to help the helpless in society.

Dr Ahmadu thanked the donors/ partners, family and friends for their uncommon support for standing by the Helpline Initiative in the past 21 years, adding that their unwavering support has been instrumental in her efforts to impact the society positively.

“And from a cluster of 20 women in Bwari, we have up to 200 of them since they started the loan scheme.This is one of our selling points and our strong project that have made these women as happy as they are today.”

“Every act of kindness counts, and together, we’re creating lasting change in our community.At Helpline, we identify the need to impact positively on people, and we always ensure that our partners are carried along in everything that we do”.

“We bring them to help us teach the women entrepreneurial skills, which is what has resulted in all the products you have seen here.”

“We are training and encouraging them to ensure that they are able to have their products to become what they can export, as the platform is already there to enable people earn foreign currencies, so as to contribute to our national growth”.

“It doesn’t matter where they are right now, they have the capacity to do so, as all they need is the support.We bring them out periodically for experts to talk to them on their mental health, because they are going through a lot.”

“They need people that would be able to talk to them as often as possible to make them believe that they can make it.We need to encourage them to look after their children well, and you can only do that by giving them skills that will make them become empowered, self-sustained and the same time help other widows that are vulnerable within their respective communities, Ahmadu said”.

Responding, Cluster leader, Women of Progress, Bwari, Mrs. Ubah Terdoo, who described the Helpline outreach programme and loan scheme as an economic game changer, said it has boosted their petty businesses, thereby reducing their financial burdens.

“We were just 8 women when we started the initiative with Helpline in 2018, but now we are more than 200 women.From proceeds of entrepreneurial ventures we are able to pay school fees, accomodation and feed our families as well as boost our businesses”.

Remi Johnson, Edited By Grace Namiji