The Widows Empowerment Trust
1225. Oyovwe Kigho
Oyovwe Kigho, from Manchester, is the founder of ‘The Widows Empowerment Trust’ which helps hundreds of widows and widowers to cope with grief and loneliness and regain their confidence after loss.
The charity provides emotional and practical support, helping people experiencing bereavement run their daily activities; often taking an added weight off the shoulders of widows and widowers who have been left caring for children alone. To tackle social isolation, the charity runs a variety of services, such as well-being workshops, arts and craft sessions, meals out and pampering sessions. Under Oyovwe’s leadership, the charity has grown to offer three weekly sessions across the Manchester area and last year raised £26,000 in support of their activities.
In a personal letter to Oyovwe, Prime Minister Theresa May said:
“Through ‘The Widows Empowerment Trust’ you are helping widows and widowers in Manchester cope with their grief, regain hope and feel connected within their communities.”
Oyovwe said:
“I am very pleased to be honoured the Points of Light Award by The Prime Minister. I would like to appreciate my husband and four children who stood by me helping widows and widowers to cope with grief and loneliness, regaining their trust and confidence after loss since 2016. Against challenges, I developed the resilience never to give up and succeeded against the odds. I believe other people lives depend on my dream and I never give up. This award, is a real testimony to all the effort that I have put towards achieving my vision of founding ‘The Widows Empowerment Trust’. My sheer dedication and determination to the cause led me to undertake a Skydive of 15,000ft. This recognition of the Points of Light Award makes it all worthwhile. I will continue to live to serve our nation voluntarily and my work will serve to celebrate the diversity for all generations of society.”
