An Ebonyi State Faith-Based Organisation, Universal Outreach for Women Empowerment Initiative, has hosted over 100 widows and vulnerable people to a Christmas party in the state.
The Christmas party was held on Saturday at the organisation’s auditorium in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
It wa part of its yearly programme of adding value to the lives of the women and their families during Christmas.
The Organisation’s Chief Executive Officer, Evangelist Abigail Eze-Iheukwumere, while speaking to newsmen, said she was driven by passion and experiences from her job as a journalist to seek ways of lifting such vulnerable group in society.
Eze-Ihukwumere said: “This is a passion I have had.
“When I travelled to the United States in 2017, and I saw how other people were giving testimonies of what the NGOs were doing in their country, bettering the lives of others, it touched me.
“On my way back, I was filled with the thought of how to add my quota to charity, knowing that the conditions are even worse here.
“Having been a rural journalist, in touch with the hinterlands, I’ve seen the plight of people, and I know with the position God has given me as a voice of the people, I have an obligation to do something to touch lives of the downtrodden.
“That was what birthed the NGO.
“We have been doing this in a large scale since 2017 when we registered the organization, though I was reaching out to people in line with my passion before then.”
Eze-Iheukwumere, who is the head of Programmes, Nigeria Television Authority, Abakaliki, noted that her NGO has trained widows in skills acquisition, empowered them financially, and followed them up to ensure they become self-reliant.
“Through these programmes, we have given them self confidence and a sense of belonging in line with the injunction of Jesus Christ,” she emphasised.
She noted that her NGO partners local and foreign bodies and individuals to execute its mandate.
She appreciated the World Mission Foundation, New York, United States of America, led by Ambassador Anthony Chima, for powering the event.
In a remark, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of UNOWEMI, Rev. Scamb Chinedum Nwokolo, said the event was a token of their encouragement to the widows.
Nwokolo, who is the General Overseer of the Universal Christ Ministry of All Nations, the parent body of UNOWEMI, enjoined the widows to always anchor their faith in God in spite of all the social challenges facing them.
Beneficiaries who spoke to journalists, including the Widow’s Coordinator in the ministry, Blessing Ofobuike, expressed joy over the gesture, and prayed God to sustain the vision.
Ofobuile said: “This is not the first time this Ministry and its NGO is doing this.
“They do it every year as added succour to us.
“And each time it happens, we are always overjoyed.”
Ofobuike further advised her fellow widows not to languish in self pity, but be strong and determined to overcome their challenges through industry and faith in God.
“Be diligent in your life endeavours for widowhood is not the end of life.”
In an exhortation, the guest preacher at the event, Rev. Roseline Ezeudu, admonished the married to guard their union with love and Godly wisdom.
Ezeudu prayed for God’s continued protection and care upon the widows.
Beneficiaries went home with cash gifts, foodstuff and clothing materials.
