Philanthropist champions cause of widows

Four years ago, Ms Betty Maame Nyaniba Anaman founded a charitable organisation, “Today’s Widow”, to champion the cause of widows and their children.

Ms Anaman founded the organisation after she had lost her husband. The initiative was aimed at creating a network and mobilising funds to support less privileged persons in  education, skills development training and financial aid. 

So far, about 150 widows and their children in some deprived communities in the Central and Eastern regions have benefited from the operations of the organisation. 

Challenges 

Speaking at the launch of the organisation in Accra, Ms Anaman said in spite of the  education and interventions by the government and non-governmental organisations to halt all maltreatment of widows, some of them were still confronted with many challenges, as a result of societal norms and repressive cultural practices.

She noted that although the families of such women were aware of the challenges, support had not been forthcoming, causing many of them to wallow in abject poverty, while others suffered depression and sometimes lost their lives.

She said children caught in this net found it difficult to make ends meet and often resorted to unapproved means to support their families. 

Social issues 

“Society has constantly ignored the efforts of these destitutes, concentrating on less prioritised issues, and that has contributed to the various forms of social vices such as child prostitution and child trafficking in parts of the country,” she added. 

Ms Anaman said her vision was to help alleviate the plight of underprivileged widows and their children and provide them with the opportunity to live meaningful lives.

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The Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Mr Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, who was the guest of honour, urged widows to remain steadfast in the face of all the challenges and trust in God to make a way for them.

He pledged his commitment to support the organisation to reach out to the less privileged across the country.