Director at the Widowers Empowerment and Support Program Samuel Okombo with some widowers in Central Kabuoch Location in Ndhiwa constituency/Robert Omollo
Elderly widowers in Central Kabuoch, Ndhiwa Constituency, have urged the State to initiate an empowerment programme to improve their livelihoods.
The widowers said they face numerous hardships following the deaths of their spouses.
Most of the widowers who lost their wives at an advanced age are unable to remarry. The situation exposes them to poverty, especially where the wife was the sole breadwinner or the family's livelihood depended on equal contributions from both spouses.
Director Samuel Okombo speaks during a meeting with widowers in Central Kabuoch Location, Ndhiwa constituency/Robert Omollo
"The tribulations elderly widowers undergo are enormous. That's why we appeal to the national government to start a financial empowerment programme for elderly widowers," Mwonya said.
During a meeting convened by an organisation christened Widowers’ Health, Empowerment and Support at Kanyangi Trading Centre in Central Kabuoch Location, the group wrote a memorandum to Internal Security Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo.
Director Samuel Okombo during a sensitization program in Central Kabuoch in Ndhiwa constituency/Robert Omollo
Jared Ware, a widower, appealed to the government to start considering widowers for empowerment programmes.
They said there are programmes targeting widows but not widowers and urged the State to establish a special fund for them.
Ware said such empowerment would help prolong the lives of elderly widowers.
He said some widowers still have children who are in school and need school fees.
They appealed to PS Omollo to help push their agenda and enable the government to consider their plight.
“The tribulations which befall widowers after the demise of spouses can shorten our lives. A similar fund to the Women Enterprise Fund should be started for us. These are some of the avenues which can prolong the lives of elderly widowers,” Ware said.
The Chief of Central Kabuoch Location, Alphonce Odero, said widowers were experiencing a lot of stigma. He urged them to cope with their situations.
“Widowers suffer a lot of stigma and other economic constraints. I encourage them to cope with their situations by seeking encouragement through support groups,” Odero said.
The Director of Widowers’ Health, Empowerment and Support, Samuel Okombo, urged the government to support widowers.
Okombo proposed that widowers be supported with free seeds and fertilisers.
He said their assessment had revealed that many widowers have various health issues that should be addressed by providing them with medical insurance.
Okombo urged the government to support widowers financially to enable them to live longer.
“Widowers are left with children to take care of yet most of them lack the ability to raise them. Their health is also wanting,” Okombo said.
