On Saturday, July 20, The Chayil Foundation, a non-profit organisation, organised a fundraising music event dubbed “Acoustic Night” to raise funds for widows in Dodowa and Offinso.
This is the second edition of the music event, having held its inaugural edition in 2023.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Founder and CEO of The Chayil Foundation, Eileen Ninson, said the fundraiser was built on what the foundation started last year, providing relief for widows in Dodowa and Offinso in the form of medical screening and counselling, donations of cash and other household items, and mental health education, among others.
“We have in the last year taken care of the Widows Association in Dodowa and also taken in some five widows in Offinso. Those are the two areas we focused on in the last year, and we did certain activities that are measurable with success factors.”
She noted that the Chayil Foundation seeks to execute the next phase of their campaign by providing widows with income-generating skills training, cash packages to start their own businesses, and platforms to advertise their products.
“For the next year, the plan is to set these women up. Because the first phase focused on their mental health and also their general health, and then we gave them a cash token to invest in their existing businesses and for some of them to set up their businesses,” she said.
“We now want to delve into their specific needs on a case-by-case basis, giving them the skills and training they need. So we are looking to partner with some organisations, like the MTNs and other organisations, who we are hoping will come on board in the space of getting these widows incomes, like being distributors of their products and helping them with a revenue-generating business, even for the [Dodowa Widows] association itself,” she added.
Partnerships
According to Mrs. Ninson, among the goals of the Acoustic Night was to create awareness about the plight of widows and build longer-term collaborations with individuals and corporate entities with the aim of easing the physical and economic hardships of widows and other marginalised persons in society.
“It is important that we identify people with whom we can work. If you look at the run-down of our programme, you can see that we are looking for partners. It is not possible to do these projects alone without partners,” she said, inviting partners for the foundation’s upcoming activities.
Focus on widows
Mrs. Ninson stated that Chayil’s concentration on widows, presently numbering over 80, is borne out of “inspiration, knowledge in the scripture, and how we have seen widows go through suffering, disinheritance, and rejection.”
She added that they decided to focus on the challenges of widows because many non-governmental organisations overlook them.
She, however, revealed that the foundation also caters to the needs of other vulnerable groups, including single mothers and orphans.
Mental Health Levy
The Chayil Foundation revealed plans to join forces with other stakeholder groups in the coming years to champion like-minded causes.
For starters, Mrs. Ninson intimated that they are joining the Mental Health Authority to advocate for the replacement of the COVID-19 levy with the Mental Health Levy.
“It’s something that the Mental Health Authority has started, and we join them because the space in which we are people is going through stress, and for the mental health workshop that we did, quite a number of them have high BP and anxiety; their stress levels are high.”
“It means that there is more work to be done in the area of mental health, so we are appealing to the government and all stakeholders that we change the name and rather use the funds to support mental health,” she disclosed.
*****
Never miss out on the news. Get your valuable breaking news and other vital content by following The Sikaman Times on WhatsApp Channel
*****
