The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Dr. Bola Balogun has assured Widows in Lagos State of better days under the Babajide Sanwo-Olu led administration saying the Government is committed to the welfare of Widows and the less privileged.
Dr. Bola Balogun who disclosed this at the 2019 International Widow’s day programme held at Grace Hall explained that the ministry is currently working out a plan to assist the widows in the area of skill acquisition and support.
“We run an open door policy in our office and you can walk in anytime to report cases on child protection on 09077333426 and Drug addiction, suicide and depression on 08097226696 for prompt response”
In a welcome address, the Executive Director, Human Development Initiatives (HDI), Mrs. Olufunso Owasanoye noted that the event offers an opportunity to identify with widows who constitute a core target group in HDI’s economic empowerment, psycho-social counseling, legal reforms, health intervention and advocacy programmes.
“Our numerous studies on widowhood has shown that widows experience unenviable situations of loneliness, frustration, disappointment, neglect, sadness, anxiety, confusion, hopelessness, widowhood torture, guiltiness/blame, suicide attempts (and suicide in some instances), fear, and psycho-social as well as economic deprivations. We intend to use the HDI Widows’ Day as an advocacy platform to draw attention to their plight, galvanize support and mobilize action to address their deplorable situations,” Owasanoye explained.
The Guest Speaker, Mrs. Lara Williams, Chief Responsibilities Officer Widows& Development Support Services enjoined participants at the event to take good advantage of the life-skills training organized by HDI saying the era of giving people free money has passed. She stressed that the skill acquisition programme could fetch them lot of money if properly utilized.
A total number of 291 participants who attended the event were presented gifts and certificate in commemoration of the day.
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