Felix King Gives Nigerian Widows Another Reason To Smile With ‘We Progress’ Initiative.

Ambassador Felix King, Founder/President, Felix King Foundation.

Our women have another reason to smile as over 5,400 Nigerian disadvantaged Widows and active poor Women in rural communities across Nigeria will benefit from Felix King Foundation’s $500,000 WeProgress initiative in 2018/19 calendar.

The WeProgress project is a pan-Nigeria program and it is targeted at disadvantaged Widows and active poor rural Women with single Mother’s status in Nigeria communities were Widows’ maltreatment is still very prevalent.

The project will directly touch over 5,400 Widows and active poor ruralWomenin over 3,700 cooperative meeting groups’ format in the first phase.

Having recorded massive successes in WEFARM (Widows in farming) project, Skill acquisition and empowerment programs, Educational program for children of widows, welfare initiative and healthcare program for widows in Edo, Lagos and Ogun States, Felix King Foundation has decided to collapse the aforementioned initiative into WeProgress project.

According to the founder of the foundation, today, over 90per cent of these women struggle to own small business and are denied access to capital. “Weprogress will help disadvantaged Widows and active poor rural Women in Nigeria communities gain access to capital they need to build their small businesses,” he said adding that “So that they too can contribute to the prosperity of their families and that of their communities”.

The rural based program has encouraged participants to form a meeting group of 10 to 20 women, appoint their meeting group representatives, get a verification letter from the recognized Community Head and register their group atwww.felixkingfoundation.com/weprogress.

And once the group is certified, the foundation will give a business rotational grant to the Meeting group, with the community Head acting as patron.

On how the grant will be disbursed, Ambassador King said this project is a woman-help-woman scheme.

According to him “Beneficiaries are expected to contribute 40per cent of their initial capital grant received from the Foundation in a year to the purse of the meeting group for four persons, who initially did not make the meeting group and two persons in 6 months.”

For what will the 20per cent contribution be used for? Amb. King stated “The 20 percent contribution from members will be extended to new members that will be nominated by the meeting group to benefit.”

 For instance, he said, “If 10 Women are in a meeting group and received ₦50,000 each, they are expected to contribute ₦10,000 each to the purse of the meeting group which will amount to ₦100,000 within 6 months period.

“This ₦100,000 will be given to 2 new members as nominated by the meeting group. And at the end of 12 months, a 10 membership group meeting will grow to 14 members,” he said.

Speaking on the endowment of the project, the President said the project is an initial $500,000 project; however we have committed $250,000 to this project for takeoff and hope to inject another $250,000 for expansion in the course of program for phase 1.

To qualify for the program, one must be a disadvantaged widow or a very poor active rural woman with single mother status in Nigeria communities with high rate of widows maltreatments. This women will be identified by Community Heads and Chiefs.

Today, Felix King Foundation, has positioned it self at the fore front of pushing the case for widows in Nigeria whom sometimes could lose everything to husband’s families at the demise of their husbands, this through different advocacy programs.

“Our disadvantaged widows today, do not need our pity nor our tears, what they need is support and help to enable them overcome the challenges widowhood has thrown at them and Weprogress will not only prosper our widows, but it will help prosper their communities”. He said.

In his words “Today , I am excited  to announce that we are giving our disadvantaged widows yet another reason to smile with our widows economic progress initiative (WEPROGRESS)

WeProgress will help turn our active disadvantaged widows into small business owners.

These women deserve to live with dignity and in prosperity. Because widowhood is not a crime and no woman deserve to suffer for the death of her husband.

Our disadvantaged widows need no pity nor tears, all they need is support and help! And no woman should be denied the opportunity to unlock her potentials”. He concluded.