Evang. (Mrs.) Rachael Abosede Ayiro is the convener of Rachael’s Women Court Foundation. In this interview with 'Gbenga Bankole, she speaks on the purpose of the foundation and how the church of God and government should treat widows. EXCERPT !
Tell us about Rachael’s Women Court Foundation
Rachael’s Women Court Foundation is basically about widows and women. It is a vision that God gave me many years ago and the actualization came in January 2018. On Sunday January 19, 2020 we marked our second anniversary with the launching of a book titled “Dignity of Widows.” Dignity of Widows talks about the challenges of widows in which I am one of them. I lost my husband in 2006. I went through a lot of challenges which prompted me to really key into the vision. God told me wherever I am going to minister I should talk about widows. I was like if I am going to do that God needs to do something very great in my life which He did because He has been faithful to me. Though I left the vision for some years, God sent someone to me for me to revisit the vision which I did and that is why I went into the widows aspect of Rachael’s Women Court Foundation.
Apart from caring for widows, what are the other things that God has committed to Rachael’s Women Court Foundation?
The foundation is not for widows alone, it is also for women. We try to let women know that with or without contributions of their husbands they can be what God has destined them to be.
For the widows, I do tell them that the fact that they are widows does not stop their destinies. Widowhood does not stop what God wants to use them for. Being a widow is not the end of life. It is just a challenge of life that people face everyday. If God can help me to overcome the challenge as a widow, God can take you to where you never imagine you can get to. If He has done it for me He can do it with anybody. Apart from that my cry is for the church and the society to encourage widows. The church and society should not neglect us. It is not our fault that our husbands died young. They should come to our aid. It is not about giving widows rice and other consumable goods. It is far more than that. They should tell us what the Bible says about widows and how we can overcome our challenges. Psychologically and emotionally widows need help. The church should be aware of the needs of the widows. They need to stop the cruelty that widows go through when they lost their husbands. I see it as suffering and wickedness to womanhood.
The second edition of the annual programme of Rachael’s Women Court Foundation was held recently. Tell us what happened on that day
It was three in one programme. That day was my birthday, we celebrated the thanksgiving of the foundation and the launching of the book titled “Dignity of Widowhood.”
Tell us briefly about the book
The book talks about the challenges of widows, what the church should do to stop cruelty that widows go through, the psychological aspect of widows that affect them immediately they lost their husbands, the way out and there is an empowerment session in the book, that is, what widows can do to fetch themselves money in order not to rely on anybody for their upkeep.
How do you want the church to treat widows?
I want the church of God to go back to what the book of Act of Apostles chapter 6 says about the widows. They must teach the widows from the Bible perspective who they are and the benefit of being a widow. There are some verses in the Bible that talks about widows expressly, like James 1:27 - your religious service is not perfect until you provide for the widows and the fatherless.
Secondly, the church should not neglect the widows when they are passing through their challenges as their children are growing up. They should encourage them, empower them, show them love and give them words of encouragement. Widowhood is another phase of life entirely. Like myself, I lost my husbands when my marriage was about six years old and I have two kids. To the glory of God it would 14 years that I lost my husband on May 24, 2020. All my people don’t even know where we are living. You can imagine all the challenges I went through and I was a full time house wife. If not for Jesus and His faithfulness and people around me, what would have happened to me and my destiny? The church should know that caring for the widows is beyond giving them rice or semo during Christmas period. They need to let them understand that they have one husband who is able to provide for them which is Jesus according to Isaiah 54:5. They should let the widows know the concept of the Bible that will help them to solve their challenges and to be able to train their children in the way of the Lord. The church (I’m not referring to CAC alone) should have seminar for widows. It is very pathetic that some Pastors even take advantages of the widows which should not be and it is part of the cry of Rachael’s Women Court Foundation. Widows should not be abused by Pastors or neglected by the church.
What is your advice to widows who are presently being neglected by their in-laws and are also passing through challenges they can't explain to anybody?
My number one advice to widows is that they should receive Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior and lean on the shoulder of Jesus. They should know that Jesus is their husband and He can provide for all their needs according to His riches in glory. Whosoever accepts Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior and working with Him faithfully shall not be ashamed. Jesus is the only one that can help you and remold your life to the best thing that can ever happen.
Secondly, they should not trust any man, rather put their trust in God.
Thirdly, they should not be lazy. I was a full-time housewife before I lost my husband but after then I was very hardworking. I sold kunnu, zobo, etc just to feed myself and my children. They should know that widowhood is a challenge they must face which will turn to testimony.
Fourthly, they should not be jumping from one bed to another sleeping with men. Men cannot solve their problems. They should come to Jesus and probably they are still young and want to remarry they should pray very well and God will give them right partner.
Lastly, they should see their journey as that is how God wants it. When you take any challenge like that it would be so light.
What are the other programmes Rachael’s Women Court Foundation is planning to hold for widows this year?
We usually hold programme for them on every third Sunday of the month at CAC Miracle Centre, Mushin, Lagos where we gather ourselves together to pray, share the word of God, comfort ourselves, share our challenges and the way out. We also empower widows. We teach them trades that can fetch them money and give them a lot of aids. We give them something to take home on monthly basis.
We need sponsors because we have children whom we pay their school fees. We are doing this because their mothers don’t have the financial capacity to send them to school and we don’t want those children to sit at home. We are looking for sponsors that God will be using for us. There are a lot of programmes we have for widows this year. We want to empower them in a large scale by giving them more than what we used to give to them and we want to give scholarship to orphans.
Note:
You can get in touch with Evang. Ariyo on +234 813 516 3784.
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