AFRICA/NIGERIA - More than two thousand women widowed largely by the Boko Haram insurgency assisted by the Diocese of Maiduguri

Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - "The widows suffer a lot once the husbands are gone, they become neglected, most of the family members do not come close to them, let alone to help them. We have an obligation to take care of the poor and needy", explained His Exc. Mgr. Oliver Dashe Doeme, Bishop of Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, in North-eastern Nigeria, in presenting the diocesan program of aid and assistance to more than two thousand women who have lost their husbands, mainly because of the violence committed by the Boko Haram Islamist sect.
The program aims to make women self-sufficient by helping them to establish small businesses. "Our major target is to help them take care of their children", said Mgr. Doeme. "For many of them are left with six, seven, ten children with no work and they need assistance from somewhere to raise these children".
The program is extended also to women who come from Yobe and Adamawa, the areas most affected by the actions of Boko Haram. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 07/07/2014)