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Assisting Widows in Crisis: GFA World Empowering Support and Aid

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In addition to groups like the Global Fund for Widows, other NGOs seek to take part in assisting widows in the trenches of daily life. GFA World is one of the groups that have been particularly helpful during the pandemic of the past two years, aiding women like Sabela, one of 19 million widows in South Asia living in extreme poverty. Sabela’s relatives refused to help her after her husband’s death. They scorned her for both being a widow and her Christian faith. Barely able to make enough money to buy food, she couldn’t spend money on items like warm clothing. That’s when Pastor Jabarri, the leader of her church, came to her rescue by organizing a gift distribution of warm blankets for 50 men and women. “I am a poor widow,” Sabela said. “I could hardly arrange my daily needs. I was unable to purchase a blanket for myself, but today, I thank [the church] for providing me a good-quality and warm blanket. It really helped me greatly to protect myself from [the] cold night.” [1] In other ...
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Advocating for Widows’ Rights and Support Initiatives

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Calls to remember widows are also part of the United States’ largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. Southern Baptists observe Widows and Orphans Sunday the first Sunday of November. Widows’ rights and support initiatives are an integral part of these observances, as they emphasize the importance of providing assistance and care to widows in need. Writing about a past observance, Texas professor and writer Brittany Salmon said there were three ways to be mindful of widows throughout the year. First is to be close to the brokenhearted by taking grieving wives meals or just visiting to console her. There is also practicing a lifestyle of service by serving widows throughout the year, and remembering to pray for them regularly, Salmon wrote. “(This day) is a great way for us to align our hearts with the call to practice true religion…,” Salmon said. “But let us guard our hearts against relegating this to one Sunday a year, and let it serve as a reminder that our ...
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Empowering Widows: Overcoming Challenges and Discrimination

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There are stories of empowering widows from the shadows helping them overcome isolation, gender violence, and barriers. Kenyan refugee Rosemary Kariuki was honored as Australia’s 2021 “Local Hero” for her work helping other displaced women overcome isolation and gender violence. [1] Now 61, she is a multicultural liaison officer for the New South Wales Police in Campbelltown on the outskirts of Sydney, also helping women overcome language, financial and cultural barriers. In the past, Kariuki helped start the African Women Group to give women a chance to dance, socialize and dine together while they shared information about various issues. The UN Refugee Agency, which chronicled her story, said her work is especially vital as the impact of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic is making inequalities and discrimination faced by refugee women and girls that much worse. “It has been very challenging but it hasn’t stopped us,” Kariuki said. “There’s a lot of mental health issues happening, and...
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Breaking the Silence: Confronting the Plight of Widows Worldwide

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Despite economic hardships and discrimination, governments and aid groups appear to be focusing more assistance on this group of women who are often left to fend for themselves. By all accounts, the plight of widows encompasses numerous challenges and obstacles throughout their lives. In some regions of the world, they can lose their home and property, be abandoned by children or in-laws, be socially excluded, and face other hardships. Armed conflicts, displacement, migration and the COVID-19 pandemic have increased the number of women who are either now widows or are missing their life partner. [1] “In the face of divorce or widowhood, women often struggle with economic hardship,” said Asli Demirguc-Kunt, director of research at the World Bank. “Unfortunately, designing effective policies to prevent these women from falling into poverty is hamstrung by sparse data and research.” [2] Adds the United Nations: “For many women around the world, the devastating loss of a partner is magnif...
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Unveiling the Challenges in the Slums of South Asia

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A study presented by Anirudh Krishna, M. S. Sriram, and Purnima Prakash in “Slum types and adaptation strategies: identifying policy-relevant differences” sheds light on the realities faced by impoverished communities in South Asia, the challenges slum dwellers face everyday. [1] This research highlights the living conditions, challenges, and adaptation strategies of these communities. A Glimpse into the Daily Lives of Impoverished Communities Within the humble dwellings of these communities, possessions are scarce. Shabby clothes are stored on wooden planks balanced atop brick or earthen supports. Families own three or four battered aluminum cooking vessels, relying on an open, wood-burning fireplace for cooking. A cheap mobile phone serves as a lifeline to connect with their families, and one or two plastic containers store their precious water. The Struggles of Unconnected Settlements These settlements face numerous challenges due to their lack of connection to city services and li...
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The Harsh Cycle of Life in the Impoverished Communities of South Asia

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Life in the slums and impoverished communities in South Asia is a challenging and generational cycle. Alcoholic husbands often provide families with limited financial resources and little guidance. Uneducated wives resort to daily labor jobs in an attempt to make ends meet. Children, as young as second grade, drop out of school to contribute to the family income. In some cases, children never have the opportunity to attend school due to their families’ inability to afford basic necessities like water, electricity, and education. Littered Streets and Health Challenges Slums are characterized by littered streets, where garbage is a common sight. Lack of access to clean drinking water and inadequate hygiene practices, such as hand-washing, contribute to high disease rates among slum residents. The absence of proper sanitation facilities further compounds these health challenges. Moreover, slums become breeding grounds for crimes like prostitution and sex trafficking, entrapping numerous i...
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Unveiling the Challenges Faced by South Asia’s Impoverished Communities: Classification Perspective

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Before delving into the realities of life in impoverished communities, it is crucial to recognize their diversity. Poverty-stricken areas exhibit varied characteristics across continents, countries, and cities. In South Asia, various impoverished communities classifications have been established to identify and categorize, offering valuable insights into the specific challenges they face: notified, recognized, or identified. [1] Notified and Non-Notified Impoverished Communities: Disparities in Access to Services In South Asia, impoverished communities are classified as notified or non-notified. Notified communities have some access to city services, including clean water supply. Non-notified slum-like communities lack property rights and direct access to essential services such as electricity, sanitation, garbage collection, and public transportation. Shockingly, half of the slums in major cities fall into the non-notified category, exacerbating the challenges faced by residents. Reco...
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