Wife of Ghana's Vice President, Hajia Samira Bawumia has generously supported over 200 widows in the Northern Region.

She in kind made available a large consignment of assorted food items, cooking oil, soft drinks, clothing and other valuables for their upkeep.

Her support was in response to the poverty-stricken widows cry for help in a media report.

The widows' farmlands and homes were destroyed by this year's floods caused by torrential rains coupled with the Bagre Dam spillage.

They are in five districts of the Northern Region comprising Sagnarigu, Tolon, Kumbungu, Tamale and Savelugu.

Their economic mainstay is subsistence farming and Shea butter processing.

Addressing the widows at Yong- Duuni, a farming community in the Sagnarigu Municipality, Hajia Samira Bawumia said she was touched by the widows narrative of their plight, hence the support.

"I will continue to support women to realize their fullest potential. Thousands of women have benefited from my interventions through the Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Project (SEHP)."

She emphasized the need for parents and guardians to take advantage of the Free Senior High School programme and educate their children.

"Education is a leveler for all of us and I am passionate about women empowerment. I will go the length and breadth of this country to empower our women. We will continue to do whatever we can to support our women."

She called for philanthropic efforts to improve the well-being of the widows.

The Saganarigu Municipal Chief Executive, Mariam Iddrisu praised Hajia Samira Bawumia for the assistance.

"Your generosity in that regard following a media report is unprecedented and I pray that you succeed in all your endeavours and do more for the widows and others having similar problems."

The MCE further commended the Northern Widows Agriculture Foundation management for contributing to the upkeep of the widows.

She underscored the need for duty bearers, philanthropists and civil society organizations to emulate Hajia Samira Bawumia's kind gesture.

Executive Director of the Northern Widows Agricultural Foundation (NWAF), Issah Iddrisu on behalf of the widows thanked Hajia Samira Bawumia for her generosity.

He proposed partnership between the Foundation and the Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Project.

The Widows

As single mothers whose spouses have died, the disruption of their marriage is a source of great emotional pain and stress.

They are unable to cope with widowhood for which reason they are crying for help. Some of them have as many as six, seven, eight and nine children and cannot cater for the family’s needs.

Majority of them are at Yongduuni, a farming community in the Sagnarigu Municipality.

Without donor support, the organisation is supporting the widows in the areas of agriculture, health, environment, leadership and microfinance.