Foundation supports widows, youth with start-up capital

An Obuasi-based non-profit organisation, Mama Love Foundation, has given widows and the youth of Obuasi in the Ashanti Region start-up capital to own their own businesses and build a better future.

A total of 50 youth and widows benefitted from a GH¢50,000.00 gesture to help them start their own businesses.
It was in fulfilment of a commitment made by the foundation to empower the less privileged and vulnerable within the Obuasi community.

The donation was made at a youth and women empowerment summit organised by the foundation in Obuasi recently.

The President of the foundation, Rev. Love Konadu, said it was evidence that most people were motivated to start their own businesses but lacked the needed resources.

The foundation also made some cash donations to some widows to cushion them and put smiles on their faces.  

According to Rev. Konadu, most widows were living in abject poverty and those with children were struggling to provide basic support to them.

“We are not oblivious of the struggles of widows in our society. As an NGO which supports the cause of women, we decided to intervene and lessen their plights," she added.

Commendation

The Akrokerrihemaa of Obuasi, Nana Serwaa Bruwaa, commended Mama Love Foundation for consistently supporting the marginalised in society.

She advised women to venture into businesses and become economically independent.

As a widow herself, Nana Serwaa Bruwaa said as part of her efforts to support women, she has employed a lot of them at her 40-acre farm at Akrokerri.

"I am doing this to help our women get decent livelihood," she said.

The Municipal Director of Legal Aid in Obuasi, Gertrude Coffie, lamented the inhumane treatment meted out to some widows in the country, describing it as barbaric which needed to be condemned.

She said her office was always open to the public and called on residents of Obuasi to patronise the service.

Citation

The foundation also recognised and rewarded individuals and groups who had excelled in their field of endeavour and those who have worked to support the empowerment of women.

They included five women who have successfully gone through apprenticeship training from the Mama Love Foundation and have become full-time fashion designers.