Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1: 27
Unemployment and poverty are already at alarming rates in Nigeria. Some of the most disadvantaged economically are widows and orphans, for obvious reasons.
This month, The Channel executed the first in a series of training for selected widows; in skills that will provide them with sustainable livelihoods.
The participants were also granted seed money and raw materials for them to start a trade or expand their existing trade.
The first set of widows, 12 in number, were trained in the production of Household & personal care products; namely – Bleach, Room Freshener, Petroleum Jelly, and Liquid Soap.
For Khiritmwa Lapkat, the lead instructor and a Captain of the Channel, ‘I can’t remember when last I felt this fulfilled being on a Channel activity and seeing the immediate impact on the lives of the beneficiaries. I say this neither because I was the lead instructor on some expertise that I’m passionate about nor because it was my first flight as Captain but for reasons that are much more. I say this mainly for the impact that we imparted.’ She also reminisced how she learned these skills from her mother who would make the products and hand them to her to sell on the streets. That provided for the family and developed her business skills.
Some of our beneficiaries described today as a day in their lives they would hardly forget. A representative of the widows said, ‘…with the skills we have acquired today, there’s a great economic gain for us. Even if we do not make these products to sell, we would make them for our use and have more money saved up for food and for our children’s school fees.’
We say a big ‘Thank you’ to all friends and partners of the Channel because you came together and helped us raise more funds than we even required for the flight. The excess will be carried over to the next activity.
To all who turned up, made a contribution, donated, and prayed toward this event, we say a big thank you again!
