Nigerian widows are among the most vulnerable and destitute women in the world.  She has no rights to ownership of her husband’s property and endure degrading rituals after his death. 

Many Nigerian widows become victims of their husband’s male relatives, who deny them access to their husband’s land or property and in some cases,  go further to assume the husband’s personal relationship with the widow.

The degrading rituals Nigerian widows must endure can undermine her health – rituals such as sleeping with the corpse until burial, drinking the water used to bathe the corpse, etc.  Unfortunately, newly reformed laws are ineffective and fail to take precedence over customary law.

The purpose of SOWIN is to provide small business grants to widows, moving them from poverty to economic self-sufficiency and eradicating the abusive, dehumanizing cultural practices associated with widowhood.

The funding for our programs depend on the generous support of individuals, corporate and foundation donors.