The Merriam-Webster lexicon defines a widow as a woman who has lost her spouse or partner by death and usually has not remarried. United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call on all of us to include those who are at risk of being left behind,” said the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, better known as UN Women, in a statement commemorating the International Day for widows, precisely on the 23rd of June. Urging everyone to work to ensure that “all widows have the opportunity to build a new life after a personal loss.”

 

According to United Nations News, although accurate information is limited, it has been estimated that there are some 285 million widows around the world, with more than 115 million living in deep poverty as is common in third world countries. In Cameroon, like in other parts of Africa, widows are amongst the most marginalized categories of people because most of them are considered properties and as such reserved with just user rights. A majority of them are humiliated, violated and trampled upon. This makes them feel left out and deprived. Worse is the fact that most of them have no one to turn or run to for assistance or solace. Some even die of poverty, hunger, starvation and ill health as a result of the hard life they are subjected to.

With all these in consideration and in line with the universal call for widows' protection and empowerment by the UN Women, Zion A Happy Home Foundation manned up the burden of caring for widows worldwide, beginning with two regions in Cameroon.