BY RITA OYIBOKA/ AMAYINDI YAKUBU
The Special Assistant to the Delta State Governor on Women Mobilisation and Widows Coordinator for Oshimili North Local Government Area, Mrs Sally Anyadike, has officially flagged off her Sally Charity Foundation with a mission to provide comprehensive support to widows across the region.
Speaking during the launch, the founder affirmed that the foundation represents more than charity but a movement to end the silent suffering of widows in these communities expanding its reach to 100 widows this year through its flagship “Rising Beyond Shadows” initiative.
In her opening remarks, she said, “For too long, widows in our communities have carried pain in silence. Pain that no one sees. Pain that no one hears. Today, we say no more. Today, we build something that speaks for them, protects them, supports them, and restores their dignity.”
Speaking during the launch, Executive Assistant to the Governor, Hon. Joseph Ijeh, praised Anyadike’s initiative as unprecedented in Delta State politics. “What she’s doing today is first of its kind since entering into the game of politics,” Ijeh said, noting that he had mentored Anyadike since 2019.
Likewise, the Odogwu of Ibusa, High Chief Ositadinma Okonkwo offered blessings to the founder.
The foundation’s Rising Beyond Shadows project, which assisted 15 widows across three wards last year, will expand significantly in its second year. From December 18-19, the foundation will conduct door-to-door outreach across all ten wards of Oshimili North reaching 100 widows.
“We’re providing not just food, but crucial necessities like mattresses, medication, BP machines, and other life-sustaining items,” Anyadike explained during said at the event. The two-day outreach will cover areas including Atuma, Ukala, Ibusa, Okpanam, and other communities across the local government.
“The best way to help a widow is to counsel them first,” she said. “Even when you take them out of poverty, they still have that grief mentally. The shock of losing their husbands is something that you cannot get over easily.”
The foundation also plans to provide skills training and business setup support to enable widows to become self-sufficient and care for their children.
Anyadike positioned the foundation’s work as complementary to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s MORE agenda, particularly the pillar of “meaningful development and opportunity for all.”
“By empowering widows across the grassroots levels, the foundation is complementing the state government’s vision of building a compassionate and equitable Delta where no one is left behind,” she noted.
Despite the foundation’s ambitious goals, Anyadike acknowledged that funding remains the primary challenge. “It’s self-funding. I don’t have any investors. I don’t have anybody sponsoring,” she said. “It’s a passion. I cannot hear that somebody is hungry, somebody is suffering, most especially a widow.”
The foundation officially declared its launch as “a new era” for widows in Oshimili North, promising that no woman would walk through life’s darkest seasons alone.
