Total of 565 widows have been trained under the Widows Skill Acquisition and Empowerment Programme of the Delta State Government as part of measures to tackle challenges faced by these vulnerable members of the society.
Delta State Governor and Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ifeanyi Okowa during handout of starter packs to the benefitting widows approved an increase in the number of beneficiaries of the scheme from 11,000 to 20,000 and the monthly stipend from N5,000 to N10,000.
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The administration of Governor Okowa apart from giving N5,000 monthly stipend to widows that reside in Delta State also extend free healthcare services through the state contributory health insurance scheme to them.
The non-partisan scheme has after last year’s enumeration of widows which provides electronic data base of beneficiaries who receive the monthly stipend, risen from its initial 5,607 to 11,107. The beneficiaries cut across the 270 council wards in the 25 LGAs of the state.
Under the scheme, 565 widows have now undergone training in five different areas of vocational trade including hairdressing, fashion and design, make-up, soap making and baking and have been empowered with starter packs. Some of the beneficiaries said the scheme is their hope for tomorrow.
Earlier in his address, Project Coordinator of the scheme, Isioma Okonta said the current round of empowerment has added to the series of interventions by the Okowa-led administration to the widows scheme.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
