The Healing Hearts Widows Support Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Enugu, says it has offered free medical examination to 29 widows in the state.
The Founder of the organisation, Mrs Gozie Udemezue, made the disclosure in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja.
Udemezue said the exercise covered blood pressure, blood sugar and free medication to the women.
She said that the organisation also assisted a widow from Obowo in Imo with N160,000, after she was evicted and disinherited in the aftermath of her husband’s death in 2021.
“The foundation, through the support from partners, got an accommodation for her at Nkpor, near Onitsha, and also ensured that her children returned to school,” she said.
According to her, the children had been out of school since their father’s death.
Udemezue said the organisation would pay their school fees for the remaining term as well as another year’s rent for the widow.
She said that she conceived the idea to provide support for widows and their children during her participation as an international visitor under the U.S.
International Visitors Leadership Programme in 2006.
Udemezue said that the vision, however, ácrystalised in 2008 with support from her husband.
“The organisation’s aim is to provide free medical aid and mission, economic empowerment, free legal services, advocacy and awareness creation programmes, amongst others,” she said.
She applauded the support of the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Consulate over the years.
She said that the group’s medical team was funded by U.S.-based Hope Restoration Medical Mission.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Public Affairs Officer of the U.S. Consulate General, Lagos, Jennifer Foltz, has urged Nigerian women to redouble their efforts to improve their wellbeing and become more self-reliant.
She said in an interview with our correspondent that “when women are empowered, they will give back to the family, community, and society at large”.
She also called on widows to embark on small-scale businesses and support their families with their earnings.
Foltz commended Udemezue for alleviating the plight of indigent widows and encouraged other well-meaning individuals and groups to emulate and encourage such gestures.
The Head of the NGO’sUNILAG VC, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe bags integrity award medical team, Dr Kene Iloh, made a presentation on “Common Preventable Diseases of Women”.
Iloh pointed out that some common diseases facing women were often grossly neglected.
He listed the diseases to inlcude diabetes, obesity, ulcer, breast lump, cervical and other forms of cancer, amongst others.
He encouraged women to engage in regular exercises, eat well, engage in regular medical checks and rest well when necessary.