258m Widows Worldwide in Desperate Poverty Need Aid

Women, many newly married or elderly, lose their husbands to war, crime, disease and extreme poverty. They are left with the duty of providing for their family.

Many widows live in cultures where women are not educated and men are the sole breadwinners of the family, so when a woman becomes a widow, she has no skills to make a living from.

You can be the one to protect a widow and her children.

As a result, widows and orphans fall deeper into poverty with no prospects of having a better life. They live in houses made of scrap material, like mud and sheets of steel.

Families of 8 or 9 are crammed into one small room which serves as their home, their kitchen and bathroom with makeshift beds all in one area, increasing the risk of disease and ultimately, death.

You can be the one to support a widow.

To make matters worse, in many cultures widows are denied their rights. They lose their home and property due to a lack of inheritance entitlements.

They are exposed to sexual violence, isolated from the community and labelled as an ‘untouchable’. Children of widows are mistreated by association.

You can be the one to protect a widow and her children.

£8,000 will help us build a new home for a widow and her orphan children. Each home is fitted with a kitchen, bathroom and toilet, and bedrooms. We also include blankets, bedding and cushions to make the family feel at home and provide regular food parcels.

A new home will help a widow care for her children better. It will give the family confidence and help fight the stigma attached to widows and orphans. You can alleviate the burden of a widow and be the one to give her children a better future.

Don't let Qulsum's dreams get washed away

Life by the river is more peril than play for disabled widow Qulsum and her three young children. The corrugated iron walls and broken roof of their shack does little to keep out the Winter chill and is perilously close to the riverbank.

The unclean water from the river is the only water source for the family's cooking and washroom needs. The choice between no water and infected water is a daily decision for Qulsum. "The only thing I ask for is a secure home" Qulsum says, as she describes her anxiety lying awake at night wondering if the next flood will take her home and children away with it. The children eat rice softened with water as vegetables are too expensive and their dire poverty means Qulsum cannot afford the books and supplies her children need to study.

"I want my children to become teachers and live with the same opportunities as everyone else. But I can't even afford to think of their future success because I'm not sure if they will survive childhood to make it."

As a disabled widow, Qulsum's dreams are as simple as they are vital to her family's future: a home on stable land and education for her children. With your support, we can bring waves of hope offering a better life for the family by the river.

Please help build a widow a home