By Yahaya Yusuf
31st December, 2022
The Executive Director, Alone Not lonely women with disability Initiative (ANLWDI), Oluwasola Deborah Olajide has yesterday 31st December 2022 launched the above named organization and provided food items to single women and widows with disabilities to celebrate the new year.
In her welcome address, It’s my great pleasure to welcome you to this event; I appreciate and thanks everyone for being here with us today despite the short notice invitation. We are also pleased to welcome those of you that have been with us from the time
Why Alone ANLWWDI? Ms Olajide said that being a single mother doesn’t happen by choice. Many unforeseen occurrences are the majority responsible for the plight single mothers found themselves in today. We take a look at how these came about;
a. RAPE: Most single mothers with disabilities came about through the rape of vulnerable girls. In Nigeria, with no law to effectively address the rising rape situation, disabled women have been at the worst receiving end.
Women with disabilities are left with no choice but to endure their fate and which results in an added burden, untold hardship, and an unpleasant way of life for these disabled women and their children.
b. Disability in the later part of life
Disability can come to anyone at a later part in life. Some women became single moms later in life due to unexpected disabilities, and spouses, relations, and families tend to shy away from these added responsibilities by leaving the vulnerable women to their fate.
c. Lack of Adequate Sexual Orientation
The dimensions of disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation affect health inequities. Most single mothers lack direct access to education and basic sexual orientation on keeping safe sexual practices.
On Way forward and how ANLWWDI can come in,
The ED argued that raising a child is a challenging experience. It is even more difficult for a single mother.
“We see a growing number of problems single mothers face: financial struggles, lack of support, emotional battles, realizations, and many more. The struggles of being a single mom can hit one pretty bad”
On the Aims and Objectives of the NGO and what can one do to cope with the problems single mothers face in society?
Alone Not Lonely Women With Disability Initiative (ANLWWDI), as a Non-government organization, is set up to take up the following mandates, which are stated below;
Aims:
The purpose of this organization is to create and provide Social and psychological support to increase the self-esteem the single and widow-disabled women in Nigeria.
Objectives Are :
- To work towards addressing the issues of unemployment and high level of dependency in the disability community while seeking to attain its reduction, thereby building self-reliant single mothers and women with disabilities
- To encourage single mothers and women with disabilities to utilize entrepreneurial skills development to overcome poverty.
- To safeguard the rights of single mothers and women with disabilities, to render help to them across Nigeria.
On whether s it achievable,
Yes!!!! She argued.
Alone Not Lonely Women With Disability Initiative (ANLWWDI) aims to collaborate and partner with other sister NGOs, Governments, International bodies, and other private bodies in provisions of Aids and assistance in the area of;
- Education and scholarship(for single mother that still has hope of going back to school and supporting their children’s education).
- Setting up skills acquisition centers and empowerment programs.
- Sex health Orientation and advocacy of inclusive health access.
- Training on building self esteems
- Lot, much more
The Ed concluded by saying that we care about the life and welfare of a Single mother and women with disability by dealing with their psychological, emotional, spiritual, and economic wellbeing.
In addition, Our NGO also largely consider the plight of widows and young girls with disability as we aim to involve all and in promoting and inclusive society.
“We consider this as key to us and to the society as far as raising healthy and visionary children is concerned”
“Through our NGO, we belive many lives will be changed and many individuals and organizations will partner with us to create a massive impact because we believe, ‘If you are not a victim, then you are affected by having someone around you who is.” she concluded.
She called for partnerships and collaborations.
