“Our case is an emergency,” an aging woman, Rev. Mot. Rosie D. Wiah, backed by widows striving for survival has claimed public attention for assistance to cater to women whose husbands left the world under different conditions. A make-shift worship center located inside Virginal, Montserrado County; seems to be a convincing evidence to claim a call for assistance for the needy. In their numbers, members of the widows under the banner- the National Widows Association Inc. of Liberia (NAWAL) assembled under their make-shift worship center opposite the Don Bosco premises in Virginia on Saturday, September 29, 2023 with placards indicating urgency for support to showcase their plights. “When you remember us-we will remember you,” one of the placards has indicated. Facial expressions of widows who are members of the Association and their personal accounts captured during the media engagement deserve narratives to claim public attention and actions for their survivability.
Rev. Mot. Wiah, General Overseer of the Divine House of Praise, Upper Virginia, District #17, Montserrado County, who is also Senior Advisor of Para Military- Military Chaplain of Liberia and a member of the Pastoral Network for Peace in Liberia, said the establishment of NAWAL came out of her ‘passion.” Assisted by Mot. Florence Harris, also a widow, Rev. Mot. Wiah who is also a widow, disclosed that the NAWAL was established on February 19, 2018, adding, “We are above 400 in Montserrado County since the establishment. We have widows from different churches, including Islamic groups as well as widows of the horrible, deadly Ebola epidemic and other national crises in Liberia.” The underlying advocacy, Rev. Mot Wiah has noted is: “Our mothers are vulnerable with absolutely nothing left when bread winners have passed. We have written so many letters for help, we even took the airwave but to not avail.” She passionately continued: “Therefore, at this time, we are appealing for help such as foods, zinc, women empowerment or whatever way for the improvement of our mothers, they too are Liberians…”
According to her, the Association only provides assistance to the widows through its advocacies to the society, stressing that they need the intervention of the Liberian Government and humanitarian organizations to help the widows to survival and look after their children.
Revealed during the media engagement was the general living condition of the widows and their siblings- deplorable housing units, especially during the rainy season. Lack of daily meals was also expressed by the widows.
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