Widows' relief outreach

Across Ghana, widows living in rural and coastal communities are the heartbeat of their households and often the most overlooked members of their communities.

Since 2017, Comfort Zion Foundation (CZF) has been showing up for them.

Our outreach has taken us to three communities: Tafiagome in the Volta Region, Kokofu in the Ashanti Region, and Langba near Kokrobite in Greater Accra. Tafiagome is our most established outreach to date, while Kokofu and Langba are still being developed. Each woman we meet carries her own story, but the thread running through all of it is the same: when you invest in a widow, you invest in an entire community.

In partnership with Action Chapel International, CZF purchased farmland in Tafiagome, gathering 20 women who were willing to work together. The farm is theirs, and a portion of every harvest’s profit goes directly to them, with CZF supplementing that with a stipend every other month. There is also a bi-annual check-in to ensure the women and farm are thriving. The remaining profits are channeled into future outreach to provide school supplies, clothing, food, water, and toiletries, because the children of these widows are also a part of the picture.

In Kokofu, a town in the Bekwai Municipal District of the Ashanti Region, we’ve begun setting up widows over 65 with small businesses of their own. So far, two women have been established with capital like fridges and stalls. We regularly send clothes, food, and toiletries to the wider community, and CZF is currently working with partners to secure the capital needed to help more women launch and grow their businesses.

In Langba, a coastal community near the beach town of Kokrobite in Greater Accra, we met women who already knew exactly what they wanted: to sell fish, drawing on their closeness to the water. CZF is also working with current partners, and seeking more, to help establish these women and fund that vision.

Three communities and counting, this is what CZF’s outreach looks like in practice. It is not always charity in the traditional sense, but partnership. We listen first, invest, and stay. Because a stipend sent once is a moment of relief. But a farm, small business, or a fish pond are legacies that may be scaled and passed on from one woman to her children.