Christy Anyanwu
The founder of Rose of Sharon Foundation, Mrs Folorunso Alakija through the group’s chairman, Mr Modupe Alakija, and Board of Trustees, is giving N25,000 to each of the foundation’s registered widows and orphans in the country’s six geo-political zones in the wake of Coronavirus (COVID-19) challenges.
Following the outbreak of this virus, low- income earners are adversely affected by the health and safety policies instituted by the Federal and state governments.
A statement signed by management of the foundation, revealed that the foundation wants to make sure that none of its beneficiaries goes hungry. About “90 per cent of our dependents’ daily income is derived from small trading activities. Widows are vulnerable as they have to take care of their families as sole breadwinners, and orphans have to fend for themselves.”
The foundation said it had mapped out the location of the beneficiaries. This includes North Central: Niger, Benue, Nassarawa, Plateau, Kogi and Kwara states. The Federal capital territory is also included in this zone.
North-West has Jagawa, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Kebbi, Zamfara and Sokoto states.
North-East has Gombe, Bauchi, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states.
The South-South zone includes Akwa-Ibom, Cross-River, Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta and Edo states.
South-East has Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu and Anambra states.
South-West has Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Ogun and Lagos, with Lagos being RoSF international headquarters.”
The statement noted that ROSF is an NGO focused on alleviating the plight of widows and orphans. “We design and execute programmes that give financial independence and educational opportunities to widows, their children and orphans. Together, these programmes build on the foundation’s mission and values, responding to the challenges faced by widows and orphans.”