About 100 widows who lost their husbands to banditry and conflict situations in Kachia Local Government of Kaduna State have received empowerment training for self-determination, self-reliance and a better future.
The gesture, which is an initiative of a non-governmental organization known as the Scarlet Cord Initiative, conducted the training for widows from Awon, Ungwan Bawa, Gadanaji and Gora communities of the local government.
At the two-day training, the Patron of the organisation, Professor Sunday Agang, underscored the critical need for trauma healing for the women, stressing that forgiveness is a voluntary process that helps unchain one’s heart from bitterness, noting that a future cannot be built on a foundation of unaddressed pain.
The empowerment programme, held in Gora community of Gumel district in Kachia Local Government Area, was designed to address the psychosocial and economic challenges faced by widows who have been largely overlooked by mainstream humanitarian interventions.
The initiative brought together women who have suffered devastating losses due to years of insecurity in southern Kaduna.
The programme opened with a “Yarn Coil” exercise, symbolising unity and shared strength, as participants formed a physical web of connection that reflected their collective journey from grief to resilience. This set the tone for sessions focused on healing, rebuilding confidence and transforming pain into productive enterprise.
Speaking during the trauma-healing session, Professor Agang explained that unresolved trauma often paralyses victims and makes the future appear fearful, hence the importance of emotional and psychological recovery before economic empowerment. He emphasized that forgiveness does not mean excusing injustice, but rather freeing oneself from the burden of bitterness.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of Scarlet Cord Initiative, Mrs Esther Moses Badung, said the organisation adopts an integrated approach that prioritises inner healing alongside skills acquisition.
According to her, rebuilding lives requires addressing emotional wounds as much as providing economic tools, adding that forgiveness is often a difficult but necessary step towards true recovery.
The training further featured sessions on entrepreneurship, business idea development and prototype design, facilitated by Anzaku Auta and Simi Francis. Participants developed practical business ideas aimed at meeting community needs, including poultry feed production, food processing and small-scale trading.
Several widows shared emotional testimonies of loss and survival. Hadiza Bello from Awon, who lost her husband to bandit attacks, presented a business plan for poultry feed production, declaring that while her husband was killed, her determination to succeed remains alive. Other participants narrated similar experiences of violence, highlighting the scale of human suffering in the affected communities.
Participants also lamented the lack of sustained humanitarian support in their areas. A 23-year-old widow and mother of three appealed to humanitarian organisations, faith-based groups and educational institutions to partner with Scarlet Cord Initiative to support widows who desire to return to school and rebuild their lives.
The programme concluded with sessions on marketing and communication, the development of individual action plans, and a commitment by the organisers to provide follow-up mentorship. Scarlet Cord Initiative also reiterated its openness to partnerships to help address the challenge of start-up capital and expand the programme to other conflict-affected communities.
The initiative highlighted both the deep scars left by insecurity in southern Kaduna and the transformative impact of combining trauma healing with economic empowerment as a pathway to sustainable peace and community stability.
Cov/Shindong Bala
