The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG) has reaffirmed its commitment to support widows within its presbyteries in various ways, enabling them to take active and meaningful roles in their communities.
The Women’s Desk Programme Officer of the church, Rev. Mrs Elizabeth Niboe-Wuasi, said that for far too long, widows have been neglected by society, state institutions, their families, the churches and individuals. She added that this trend was highly inimical to community development.
She made the remarks before a health screening exercise for widows at Awudome-Avenui in Ho East Presbytery of the church last Wednesday.
Screening
The screening was followed by registering the widows for the church’s livelihood assistance programme, known as the Dorcas Widows Project.
About 60 women from the church's Abutia, Sokode, Akrofu, Tsito, Anyirawase, and Wegbe-Kpalime districts participated in the one-day exercise.
Beneficiaries at the Dorcas Widows Project are trained at the project centre at Awudome-Avenui to bake, operate dough mixers and make soap.
They also learn to prepare weanimix for babies at the centre before receiving the necessary support to earn a living with the skills acquired.
Rev. Niboe-Wuasi said the church had learned that some families still throw widows out of their late husbands’ homes, leaving them homeless with no financial support for themselves or their children.
Innocent
“In such cases, the innocent children of the widow suffer needlessly,” she added.
The EPCG women’s desk programme officer assured that the church would regularly engage the registered widows, listen to their stories and find appropriate ways to support them in overcoming their individual suffering.
She maintained widows were an integral part of society and deserved love and goodwill from the community to move on with their lives, especially those without any income to support themselves.
“In the first place, it is not a criminal offence to be a widow and it is no woman’s desire to become a widow; so there is no justification for treating widows with contempt and stigma,” Rev. Niboe-Wuasi insisted.
Welfare
The facilitator of the All Women in the Ho East Presbytery programme, Rev. Patience Akpene Adukonu, said that the registration of widows would continue vigorously, followed by the adoption of suitable packages for their welfare and comfort.
She appealed to non-governmental organisations, corporate bodies, public-spirited individuals, and state institutions to support the Dorcas Widows Project in alleviating widows' suffering.
“Such a move will definitely serve the interests of the community in particular and the nation at large,” she added.
Rev. Adukonu questioned why society shows compassion towards a man who loses his wife but dismisses a woman who loses her husband, stating that this is entirely unfair to women.
A widow and mother of eight, Faustina Addae, 60, said that after her husband, a bricklayer, died five years ago, she received no support from anyone or anywhere.
She said the Dorcas Widows Project had given her new hope to look to the future with confidence and great expectations.
