Self sustainable widows, widowers and orphans (SSWWO)

SSWWO

Self Sustainable widows, widowers and orphans is an association created to help women, men and children whose husbands, wives and parents respectively have been taken away by death. We pay more attention to victims whose loved ones died due HIV related causes. It is a non governmental organization run by people of good will and by volunteers who have as their prime motives the intentions to help incapacitated families placed in their predicament by the untimely death of one or both of the bread weaners of the family (husband and/or wife or parent(s)).

Why this association (SSWWO)?

Due to the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Cameroon (5%), husbands, wives or parents die living behind wives, husbands or children. Both parent die from a good number of families living the eldest daughters or sons with the full responsibility for the house hold. Taking into account the Cameroonian practices and culture, the financial burden of the family predominantly lies in the hands of the husband while the most wives take care of the domestic activities. In the absence of the husband things become very difficult for the wives to run the house and educate the children.The husband on the other hand are incapable of running the families in the absence of their wives.

Thanks to the invention of antiretroviral therapy which has prolonged the lives of HIV/AIDS patents giving them another opportunity to live again, and contrary to this, life is not worth living when the wives live to see their children drop out of school or go hungry because of no money nor is live worth living when the husbands have to take care of the kids, feed them, cloth them or do all the domestic work together with his job. Live is neither worth living for the children who have lost one of the arms of their life (a parent) nor is it worth living for the orphans who have lost both parent. In a society like Cameroon where survival dependence on your fitness, (survival of the fittest) it is very difficult for AIDS related widows or widowers to simultaneously manage their situation (HIV positive) and take care of the rest of the family.

These local women, men and children definitely need help to make ends meet and can get this help if they know the right doors to knock. It is also our understanding that there are many charity organisations and well wishers seeking to render some relieving efforts to the underprivileged but don't have the opportunity to find the right people to help. Our Goals therefore are to

• Fish out the underprivileged especially widows, widowers and orphans placed in the situation by HIV/AIDS and connect them to these charity organizations, or well wishers or take the help to them ourselves. It is our intentions to knock doors for the underprivileged and to help cheerful donors direct their help to the most needed.

• Educate HIV infected widows and widows about the importance of adhering to their medications.

• Help widows establish a source of income or small businesses for themselves and their families, and educate them on the sustainable practices.

• Help educate and support widowers on domestic know hows, set up small businesses for them and on how to improve their income generating activities

• Support orphans realize their goals in life by helping them with their education and or any trade they are interested in.

Activities
Our activities will involve

• Organizing seminars to educate the victims on health issues, education, poverty, human rights.

• Visit victims at the business sites or the fields and guide them improve on their practical skills.

• We participate on trainees programs on how to better help the community

• Recruit as many victims as possible for their own benefit

• We shall also help the international body to carry out surveys on HIV/AIDS related issues
  
  

How will the association be run?
The association is run by the president(founder) alongside the vice president, treasurer and financial secretary.