Some poor widows in Iresi town, Osun State, have received bags of rice and cash as part of support to cushion their hardship, particularly due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The beneficiaries said during their lockdown imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19, palliative distributed by the state government did not reach them.

The Iya Sunna (leader of Muslim women) in the community, Alhaja Balkis Agboola, and Deaconess Rebecca Oguntomi, who spoke on behalf of Christian women in the community, expressed gratitude to the donor for the gesture.

Agboola and Oguntomi said the rice and the money would make them enjoy Christmas and New Year celebrations and prayed God to reward the donor abundantly.

Mrs. Adekemi Adejare, founder, African Diabetes Education Program (ADEP), made the donation on behalf of the NGO. She said that she grew up in Iressi and decided to help the widows there given their condition. Her husband, Prof. Adeboye Adejare, also donated cash to the widows

She said: “I grew up in this community and I’m very passionate about the people here. We are using the Non-governmental organisation, African Diabetes Education Program (ADEP) to help these widows in this community.

“We know their major burden is how to feed and that is why we brought the food to them. Making them happy is our goal. As you can see, these widows are really in need and their voices are not necessarily heard by those in government and other NGOs.

“This donation is not a lot. It's just a token, but, we know it would go a long way in putting smiles on their faces. Hopefully, we will do more for them as time goes on. We plan to organise a medical mission to cater to some of their needs, and at no cost to them.”

PHOTO: Some of the widows with the donor, Mrs Adekemi Adejare, and her husband, Adeboye Adejare (middle)