Fund brings smiles to widows

Daily News Reporter

ARUSHA: THE Global Fund for Widows (GFW) has issued 330m/- worth of grants to 825 widows in northern Tanzania to create businesses after imparting entrepreneurial skills to

them.

Recently, the GFW introduced the Widows’ Savings and Loan Associations (WISALAs), bringing innovative community banking solutions to the world’s most marginalised persons – widows.

With the development of the WISALAs, widows can gain access to capital, savings and move towards building credit.

Through their ownership of the WISALAs, widows have full agency of their financial futures. Offering the latest batch comprising 175 widows in Karatu and Monduli districts, Arusha Region, the GFW Country Director, Ms Mesha Singolyo, said the funds were meant for restoring hope for the despaired women.

“GFW is complimenting the government’s efforts in addressing historical injustice facing widows, particularly in pastoralist communities where women have no right to property and inheritance,” said the award winning Singolyo.

Apart from economic empowerment, she said the widows were also offered a platform to interact with each other in a bid to contain loneliness. Ms Rachael Lekshon, a mother of five and one of the beneficiaries of the drive, said GFW had not only restored hope for the critical mass of widows, but also became the rural economic catalyst.

“The grants are stimulating the rural economy, as they enhance monetary circulation to the marginalised people,” she noted. Ms Rachel said the grants had enabled her to establish a retail shop, build a house for rent and pay for school supplies, among others.

“I’m so grateful to the founder of the Global Fund for Widows, Ms Heather Ibrahim-Leathers, may God bless her abundantly. Her initiative touches the most marginalised group,” Ms Rachel said.

She said the GFW fresh bid had played a critical role in liberating the marginalised widows from harmful shackles of their traditional norms. Ms Rahel was of the view that GFW was actually addressing historical injustice compounded by oppression and exploitation of widows, particularly in developing countries.

In the developing world, widows suffer three main violations of their rights, namely disinheritance, discrimination and harmful practices. Through the grants, she explained, widows managed to buy raw materials for making beads and selling them to foreign tourists. Hundreds of widows now benefit from tourists’ dollars by hawking beads and carvings along roads heading for important tourist sites.

Monduli District Development Officer, Ms Rose Mhina expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the Global Fund for Widows for their unwavering support to widows in her area.

She emphasised that the grants provided by the organisation would not only greatly assist the needy widows but also complement the government’s relentless efforts in combating poverty. Officiating on the International Women’s Day, Ms Flora Zelothe, Arusha Region Chairperson for the ruling CCM Women Wing passionately acknowledged the crucial impact of the Global Fund for Widows grant on the lives of widows within the region.

Through this support, she explained, vital progress has been made in reducing the incidence of gender-based violence, thereby enhancing the overall wellbeing of children within widowed households.

Furthermore, the GFW’s efforts have contributed to tangible improvements in the health and educational opportunities of the children.

Ms Zelothe’s recognition of the GFW’s impact and her praise for the dedication and accomplishments of Ms. Mesha Singolyo, the GFW Country Director, underscore the profound significance of this initiative in uplifting widows and strengthening families within the Arusha region.

With its footprint in Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Egypt and Cameroon, to mention but a few, the Global Fund for Widows is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to empowering widows and female heads of households to overcome poverty through achieving financial stability, self-sufficiency and accountabilty across the developing world. Ms Heather Ibrahim Leathers, who is an active advocate for the rights of widows and child widows, founded the GFW.

Ms Ibrahim-Leather regularly delivers presentations at the UN system, including at the Human Rights Council in Geneva and at the Commission on the Status of Women.