Widow Support

Widows in rural Nigeria face a particular combination of hardships: the loss of household income, social stigma, disputed inheritance, and the disappearance of the support networks they relied on. Our Widow Support initiative provides vocational training, micro-grants, psychosocial support, and community belonging to help these women rebuild with dignity.

Why this work matters

In many communities, a woman's economic standing is bound up with her husband's. When he dies, income can stop the same week. Property and land may be claimed by relatives. Customary mourning practices can isolate a woman precisely when she most needs to be earning and connected. Children are withdrawn from school first, which turns a single bereavement into a second generation's lost education.

These women are not short of capability. They are short of capital, training, and a community that treats them as full members.

How the programme works

Vocational training

Women train in a trade with genuine local demand — tailoring, food processing, small-scale trade, and similar work — rather than a skill that looks good on paper but has no market where she lives. Training runs as a cohort, so participants finish alongside women who understand exactly what they are carrying.

Start-up support

Training without tools produces a certificate and no income. Graduates receive the equipment and starting stock their trade requires, so the first day after training is a working day.

Business and financial skills

Pricing, record-keeping, saving, and managing stock are taught alongside the trade itself, because these determine whether a new business survives its first difficult month.

Psychosocial support and community

Grief, stigma, and isolation are addressed directly. Cohorts frequently continue meeting after training ends, forming savings groups and referral networks that outlast our involvement — which is the outcome we are aiming for.

What your support funds

• A place in a vocational training cohort
• Tools, equipment, and starting stock so a graduate can begin trading immediately
• Micro-grants for women establishing or rebuilding a small business
• Business, pricing, and record-keeping training
• Counselling and peer support groups

How we account for it

Donations designated to Widow Support are tracked against this initiative and reported in our public ledger. We report on what was delivered and to how many women, and we would rather publish a modest verified figure than an impressive unverifiable one.