WHAT WE HAVE DONE SO FAR

There is no doubt that women are among the most marginalized groups in the world today. The widows in most cultures in Nigeria are often forced to undergo harsh and negative cultural practices at the death of their husbands, in the name of customs and traditions. They suffer incredible, inhumane treatment and are sometimes, blamed for the death of their husbands. Widows are forced to shave their heads and are expected to wail daily for months at a time to mourn for their husbands. The widows are sometimes, forced to drink the water used to wash their dead husband’s body to justify their innocence that, they did not cause their husband’s death.

At the end of mourning period, these widows feel dejected and ostracized from the rest of the village. The traumas they suffer will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Moreover, in some communities, these widows are denied access to their husband’s properties and incomes, if they have no male children. So, they have to fend for themselves and their children. Widows in Nigeria do not need to be blamed for their husband’s deaths and receive such inhumane treatments. Hence, the DePaul Hope Social Center was established by the Vincentian Fathers and brothers of Nigeria to give meaning and aspirations to the lives of these widows and enable them fight for their rights in the society.

COMPUTER LITERACY PROGRAM

Presently, 18 clients have benefited from our computer l issued with certificates to seek job in the labor market.

MICROLOANS PROGRAMS

We have 360 clients under our microloans program. Fifty of these women are poor widows whom our organization has supported with our microloans program. The support has enabled these widows to put food on their table, pay electricity bills, hospital bills, rent bills etc. Many of these widows now have flourishing business and they are no longer thinking of engaging in prostitution and human trafficking for survival.

START UP BUSINESS FOR A VICTIM OF BOKO HARAM

With the assistance from the Vincentian Solidarity organization we have been able to set up a food vendor shop for Agnes Ogwu, a 55 year old widow whose husband and son were killed by an explosive planted by Boko haram near a building in Kano where her husband was working as a brick layer in the North in 2012. Agnes decided to relocate to the eastern part of the country. She and her children have been finding life difficult since their arrival She has four kids and they are all in schools. She went through our counseling program and it cost the organization the sum of three hundred thousand naira (N300,000) to set up a business for her.

FREE MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR WOMEN

In March, 2016 the organization provided a free medical checkup for 32 poor women around Enugu north Local Government. They were given free examination on diabetic checks, breast and cervical cancer, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

On 8th June, 2017 our organization in collaboration with the wife of the Enugu state governor organized a free medical check-up and treatments on cervical cancer, genital infectious diseases, and malaria, typhoid fever. Six doctors and two nurses attended to our clients. A total of 17 widows and five poor women attended the medical check-up and received treatments.

FREE EDUCATIONAL FOR CHILDREN OF WIDOWS

DePaul Hope Social Center on September 3rd 2017 launched a free educational scheme for the children of the widows. In all 52 widows children benefited from the scheme. These children are from different schools in Enugu state. The following schools benefitted from the scheme:

1. St. Mary Nursery and Primary School Akama Oghe Ezeagu Local Government.
2. Maria Assumpta Comprehensive Secondary School, Akama Oghe Ezeagu Local Government Area.
3. Our Lady of Lourdes Nursery and Primary school, Maryland Enugu North Local Government Area.
4. Glorious International School, Achara Layout Enugu North.
5. Maryland Primary school Enugu.
6. Queens Secondary School Enugu.