Deputy eastern regional minister, Samuel Nuertey Ayertey on Monday, 23rd December, 2019 held a reception for about 200 members of the ‘Hope For Widows Association’ based in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal.

The deputy minister who fete the women as part of the christmas festivities said the gesture was his way of sharing the joy of Christmas with widows of Kroboland to ensure that they are not left out of the festivities.

'We wanted to get the widows here in Odumase-Krobo to have a festive feel of the Christmas season by way of dining together and sharing some Christmas goodies with them,' he said.

'Their background showed some of them had lost their breadwinners for several years and their livelihood has been quite challenging, some have health challenges, so we wanted to use this as a way of encouraging them and letting them know that they have people who care about them and are ready to come to their aid.'

Mr. Ayertey, popularly called ‘Teddy’ said his office together with the Municipal Chief Executive were rolling out various livelihood empowerment ventures such as the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) program to offer financial relief for the poor women, most of whom have no source of sustainability.

Teddy who described himself as an orphan following the deaths of both parents as a young man, expressed his joy at celebrating the day with the widows.

He regretted the voting pattern of the area which he said had not yielded the necessary developmental needs of the area and said Krobos were not wiser and ready for change by voting for him as their member of parliament and the new patriotic party come the 2020 general elections.

President Akuffo Addo, he said, appointed him to represent the people of the eastern region when least expected and appealed to Krobos to support him so he could serve them diligently.

He promised to visit the widows regularly to interact more with them to appreciate their challenges.

Municipal Chief Executive for Lower Manya Krobo, Simon Kweku Tetteh who accompanied the deputy minister was grateful to God for granting the widows long life.

“Our prayer is to see you live long because grandchildren want to see their grandchildren,” said the assembly chief.

The MCE who extolled the invaluable advice of women to national development called on them to contribute their quota towards the development of Lower Manya Krobo through their wise counsel.

He commended them for accepting to celebrate the day with Mr. Nuertey Ayertey and reminded them to support him in his quest to win the parliamentary seat of the area on the ticket of the NPP as amply testified by his appointment to the position of deputy eastern regional minister by the president, to end the dominance of the opposition NDC in the area.

Mr. Tetteh who cited several developmental projects to be undertaken in the municipality through the instrumentality of Mr. Ayertey was hopeful that he would do more for the constituency should he be supported to annex the parliamentary position.

He took the opportunity to extend season’s greetings to the people Of Lower Manya and Krobos in general.

The widows while expressing their gratitude to the deputy eastern regional minister for his show of love and friendship, however appealed to him to pay regular visits to the group.

Ms Elizabeth Kpabitey, the president of the widow's association, used the opportunity to call for help from government and other corporate bodies.

She made a passionate call to government and NGOs to come to their aid and make life worth living for her and her colleagues and their respective families.

The president of the association also appealed for capital sustainability projects to be provided the women to ensure that they have life sustaining ventures to rely on.

She listed soap making, pastry making, detergent making, etc as some of the income generating ventures the foundation would appreciate having some of its members trained in.