Widows and orphans from Moriting receive food in Women’s Month

As part of the Women’s Month celebration, the Life 4 U Foundation project hosted Widows Care Programme at Moriting Section on August 4.

About 50 widows from Tembisa and Ivory Park received food parcels on the day.

According to the founder of Life 4 U Foundation, Simon Molekwa, the widows care programme is a project which was initiated in 2014 to care for the widows around the country.

“The project has grown from strength to strength to support the widows of South Africa who face many challenges after their husbands’ deaths. It does not only support the widows but orphans as well. The main objective is to alleviate poverty through food and clothing distribution and to continuously comfort widows and orphans with the Word of God,” said Molekwa.

Molekwa added the project is a gospel ministry on its own and the mission is to make sure that widows and orphans see the love of God through this project because the Bible teaches us in the book of Deuteronomy that we need to circumcise our hearts and not be stiff-necked any longer.

“For the love of God is good. He is God who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among us, giving them food and clothing,” said Molekwa.

Molekwa explained that this project of caring for the widows is very special in their hearts because widowhood is a traumatic life experience and process that naturally should evoke sympathetic treatment.

“Treatment faced by women who lose their husbands is sometimes very inhuman and unfortunate. In most cases they are accused of killing their husbands and as such are subjected to all kinds of trials and ordeal. They are often considered to be cursed, especially when wearing their mourning clothes because people tend to avoid to sit next to them.

“The inhuman treatment vented on the widows varies from one culture to the other. After the period of mourning, they are subjected to the psychologically frustrating experience or process of being inherited by their heir or next of kin of their late husband.

“The maltreatment of widows is wide-ranging; young children of widows are forced to drop out of school, work, and become destitute due to lack of access to their fathers’ resources. Widows go through all of the harmful pre- and post-burial rites whereas widowers do not,” added Molekwa.

He said as they celebrate Women’s Month, a good advice was that women should try as much as possible to do so many things by themselves without totally depending on their husbands and partners, and all women should have a means of livelihood so that they can be economically stable.

“Men should be educated on the need to put their homes in order before they die. That is ensuring that half of the property goes to the wife. Wives should try and maintain a pleasant relationship with their husbands and extended family members. Women should ensure that properties that they personally acquire are in their personal names, and women who are usually used against fellow women in times of bereavement should be educated to change their behaviours towards widows,” said Molekwa.

Molekwa further said when death occurs, the widow should understand that the situation is not the end of the world. She should try to organise herself and be alert to rise above the challenges.

All the 50 beneficiaries received 12.5kg maize meal, 10kg rice, 2L cooking oil, 1L vinegar, 200g soup box, 2kg sugar, 1kg salt, 1L juice, 12 stock cubes, 2 canned beans and 130g tea bags.

“Our communities must please understand we work with limited resources and we cannot accommodate everyone. We like to thank our pastors and the Church of Kingdom Heirs for entrusting us with the programme, not forgetting our organisation sponsor Iwisa Maize Meal for the continuous support in alleviating poverty in our communities,” concluded Molekwa.