The Chief Executive Officer of Danywise Estate and Construction, Mr Frank Aboagye Danyansah, who said he was deeply touched by predicament of widows, has made announcement at a workshop for over 140 widows in Obuasi and about 600 widows from Adansi Fomena, Asokwa, Akrofuom and its environs.
He said the programme, organised on the theme: “Empowering Women for Change,” intended to deepen women’s knowledge in wealth creation to enable them to take sufficient care of their dependants.
Danywise Estate and Construction with success in introduced scholarship scheme as part of its corporate social responsibility for deprived children, including children of widows, throughout their basic, secondary and tertiary education and with partnership with the Adansi Traditional Council under the auspices of Opagyakotwere Bonsrah Afriyie II in this field.
Resource person and fellow developer Mr. Akwasi Aboagye and Adu Frimpong and some other personnel took the women through several enjoyments bordering on lifestyle and wealth creation towards improved living conditions and welfare.
Mr Danyansah described females in their old age as “reservoir of knowledge and wisdom” which reflect the Ghanaian tradition of making reference to “consulting the old lady” in matters that appeared complex to deal with.
Mr Danyansah, who is a leading member of the NDC has urged the current government to make rights and needs of widows a priority in policy making.
He said several financial leakages in the system through corrupt acts and bad policies could have been redirected to investments in women’s skills development as well as child education programmes to empower them in society.
“Children and women are the people we must invest in, they hold the future of our country; our policies and programmes should be targeted at them; development is about our future not our stomachs,” he said.
He said a comprehensive policy is to be rolled out to make sure every child benefited from the scholarship being instituted to help the several less privileged but brilliant children to go through senior high school education at least.
“For our women, all the windows who are 60 years and more will be put on special support of my company to cushion them against economic hardship and from poverty.”
Madam Azumah, leader of the widow’s foundation in Obuasi, thanked Mr. Danyansah and appealed for more in these trying times.
Women advocates say widows in Ghana lack welfare benefits and are often exposed to insecurity while in many instances they fall victims to systematic seizure of property and evictions by their late husband’s family among many other ill treatments.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Evans Boateng
