Who are we?

Partnering to build a world where all Widows are cared for not abandoned.

Who We Are

Partnering to build a world where all Widows are care for not abandoned.

Statistics show that we have over eight million disadvantaged widows and with an estimated 21 million children in Nigeria due to political unrest, poor health care, accidents, incidents and terrorist attacks, it is a huge epidemic that affects every cadre of our society. Widowhood in Nigeria is grossly undermined and the traumatic practices are seen without any form of ameliorative measures given to them such that after the loss of their spouses, they are made to go through psychological, health and financial hazards. Their children suffer from poor hygiene and insufficient funds and they are forced to drop out of school, and become street urchins. The boys can be used as a tool for any form of violence and their girls forced into early marriage as a result of the mother’s inability to fend for her family.

It is on this premise that Ashake Foundation is a non-governmental organization that seeks to empower widows with skill training, financial literacy, mentorship and access to microcredit was founded established on the 15th of December 2013. We respect everyone’s beliefs and share no specific religious or philosophical ideology. We are registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria.

With the various on the field observation and
through community participatory efforts, we have been able to directly impact
over 2500 widows and 5000 children through our various intervention programs in
Nigeria.

SDG1(End Poverty in all forms everywhere)

SDG5(Achieve gender equality and empower all men and girls)

SDG4(Education)

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Focus Areas

01.

— Practical and financial literacy.

 Research has shown that more women are always quick to invest a higher proportion of their income back to their families than men and so we strive to teach them managerial, interpersonal and other practical skills like hygiene, nutrition and health. 

It will build confidence in their decision-making process and realise that the household decisions are equally as important as the decisions they make about their business.

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02.

— Mentorship

The network of widows who have graduated from Ashake’s programs provides support, and a sense of belonging to new widowed women. 

Women are more likely to help other women with loans and advice often through cooperatives, associations and savings group. When a woman is supported, it has a multiplier effect, both the children, community and society are beneficiaries.

03.

—Use of Fin-Tech, Micro-Credit, Market entry Support

We provide micro-credit extension to widows who wish to start micro enterprises after the skill acquisition programs,

 we also tend to scale up existing businesses of widows and we leverage on our relationships with local businesses, 

social media platforms and other e-commerceplatforms for the selling of products made during either during the skills acqusition trainings or general merchandise.

Our Approach

01.

— Our Mission

Provide support, empowerment, mentorship and friendship to widows and their children thereby alleviating their pains and facilitating their total well-being.

02.

— Our Vision

To become a frontier center for total help for widows and their children. 

03.

— Our Value

Empowerment: When people are empowered, they find creative ways to resolve their own problems and better contribute effectively to their society and ensure that no child is made to drop out of school.

 

Accountability:  We will be accountable to all stakeholders and partners in the areas of open and accessible financial and project reports and other actions as a team and an organization. We will pursue excellence and do things that will further the goals of the organization.

 

Inclusiveness: We consistently encourage that the potential of every individual is utilised at peak performance. Every member of the team is made to feel comfortable and no one feels the need to suppress who they are.

 

Integrity and Ethics|: We try to do the right and most appropriate thing in an honest, fair and responsible way. 

04.

— Our Story

Ashake Foundation was founded in 2013..We have Directly empowered over 2500 widows and 5000 kids

We Facilitate Safe Environment for women all over the word

THEMATIC AREAS

The organization runs various programs targeted at the different sub groups within our target audience of vulnerable women and girls in Norther Nigeria. These includes:
01.

— BACK TO SCHOOL PROJECT

At the beginning of every school session, the foundation facilitates a public donation drive for school fees and other essential school items for children of vulnerable women within the foundation’s network to enable the children stay in school and remove the burden from women with little or no means.

The donation drive is open to the general public through partner impact giving platforms, social media and partner physical locations where in-kind donations can be dropped. Howver, the foundation’s website has a permanent donation link where the public can make non-specific support donations at any time.

Back to school is a quarterly project by the organized to ensure that underserved children and children of widows in rural commensalities to in school. During the project, the organization distributes school bags, writing materials, and award scholarships to pupils in different schools across the FCT.   Since inception, the organization has distributed over 800 school bags to eight hundred pupils,6000 writing materials, 400 lunchboxes and dental kits. We have also provided scholarships to over 200 pupils. Donated textbooks to over 2000 pupils in 5 communities, renovated a library that carters for 683 pupils and donated a school library that caters for another 200 pupils.

02.

— ADOPT A WIDOW INITIATIVE

Widowhood remains a very delicate topic in the life of any woman and a sensitive area of impact as it regards socio-economic and political development because, the negative impact that goes with widowhood, trickles down to everyone in the society. an average Nigerian widow, is stripped of her husband’s belongings if any and treated as an outcast. This leads to limited access to essential of life for widows and their children such as education, healthcare and social prestige. In bid to restore hope to these widows, designed a project called: 

ADOPT A WIDOW INITAITIVE. Four months into the program, four widows have benefited in areas of business startup, accommodation, and scholarships.

03.

— Ashake Skill and Knowledge Acquisition program

ASKAP is an accelerated skills acquisition and vocational education program that seeks to promote productive employment, financial independence, sustainable income and economic empowerment through technical and entrepreneurial skills training for disadvantaged women and girls in Nigeria.  The vision of the project is to create and deliver limitless development opportunities for women and girls through hands-on training through an array of technical, vocational, and business development skills which are tailored to attract local labor market opportunities and to overcome specific local constraints towards sustainable livelihoods. Over the years, Ashake Foundation has trained over 800 women in business support trainings, Adire Tie and Dye, Bag making, Soap making, Wig making, Pastry and baking and Hand Sanitizers. We have partnered with the Abuja Enterprise Agency and the Adire bizhub.

Quarterly, the foundation organizes vocational skill training, mostly in fashion designing, manufacturing for products such as cleaning and hygiene products and pastries for select vulnerable women in target communities as designated on the yearly programme plan.

Entrepreneruship Training: Biannually, the organization organizes a business support training in areas such as marketing & sales, packaging & branding, financial management and value chain development amongst others for women-led micro businesses within our target communities

04.

— The Ashake Foundation Interest-Free Loan Scheme

The organization provides loan funds to vulnerable women to start and scale their micro businesses. Loan amount range from 10,000 – 50,000 NGN with 1-5% simple interest rates. To qualify for the loans, women are to have attended at least one of Ashake Foundation’s Skill Acquistion or Entrepreneurship Training Programs in the past 6 months and completed the enrollment form for the micro-loans. The loans require no collateral and processing takes between 3 and 5 days. 

The Ashake Interest free Loan Scheme, is aimed at empowering women, widows and girls who have successfully graduated from our training programs by giving them startup capitals for their various skills and chosen businesses. We believe that financial freedom is the greatest challenge most of these widows are faced with. Giving them this loan, will enable them fend for themselves, their immediate and contribute to the society. The loan scheme is given to but not restricted to widows who are into petty business and widows willing to set up a business across the FCT. In Kubwa, we have 50 widows whom have benefited and 9 in Galadimawa.

05.

— Essential Support Package

On special occasions such as Christmas, Sallah, Easter, Lockdowns (like in the case of the Covid-19 pandemic) the foundation partners with private and corporate entities to provide food and essential items to vulnerable women within target communities. 

Christmas in a Goodybag is an annual event organized by the organization to celebrate widows and their children. We believe that widows have the right to love, care and sense of belonging in the society and the Yuletide is usually a season best fit for showing love and care to those who have lost their spouses. This event is aimed at providing relaxation for the widows and giving them food items to help them enjoy the season without feeling the absence of their spouses. During the event, there are always lots of fun games, presentation of gifts, shopping for and raffle draw. The project kick started in 2015 with over 600 beneficiaries since inception.

06.

— COMMUNITY CHANGE MAKERS INITIATIVE

The community change makers initiative, was born out of a survey conducted by the organization during the lockdown in early March 2020, the whole idea is to ensure that girls who are mostly of the Teenage age, are positively and meaningfully engaged in community development and as a way of keeping them away from gender-based violence and Teenage pregnancy. Through this program, we have trained 228 girls on leadership development, self-esteem and menstrual hygiene management and gave five months’ supply of sanitary napkins to 178 girls in 5 communities.

07.

— Yard Sale

The Ashake Foundation Yard Sale Project is designed to Save a widow, save her child, save the world.

One of the basic human needs is a support system. With a little bit of benevolence, even the weakest of us becomes strong. . 

Since 2015 Ashake Foundation has organized 4 Back to School Yard sales. We receive Clothes, shoes, bags, accessory’s, baby items, toys, other household items, kitchen appliances and similar items.

These items are collected and sold at busy local parks and organized yard sales. The proceeds from the yard sales are used to buy or schooling items for widow’s children.

Ashake Foundation is determined to be the support system that would heal these widows, their children and Nigeria. 

How can you be involved?

  1. Give household items in perfect conditions that can be sold for cash.
  2. Volunteer to collect and send items to us. 
  3. Donate Cash  
  4. Send us good textbooks for all classes.
  5. Volunteer to share our campaign on your social pages