Director Samuel Okombo speaks to some widowers in Lambwe Ward, Mbita in Homa Bay County/Robert Omollo
Some elderly widowers in Homa Bay have urged the national government to establish a special fund to reduce the hardships they face after losing their spouses.
The elderly men expressed concern that they undergo significant financial and social challenges following the deaths of their wives.
Some are left with many young children even as age catches up with them. Others are ailing and have no reliable sources of income to address their challenges.
They want the national government to establish a special kitty to support them in coping with the hardships they endure.
Some elderly widowers with Director Samuel Okombo at Ogongo market in Mbita,Homa Bay County/Robert Omollo
George Mboya, an elderly widower, said creating the fund would help elderly widowers live longer.
He urged the State to consider them the same way it considered women through the establishment of the Women Enterprise Fund.
"It is high time the State created a special fund for elderly widowers because most of us are suffering. A Widowers' Empowerment Fund will help us greatly," Mboya said.
They spoke during a sensitisation meeting convened by Samuel Okombo, director of the Widowers' Health, Empowerment and Support Services, at Ogongo Market in Mbita Sub-county.
The senior citizens expressed concern that many of them have been overwhelmed by the responsibility of taking care of their young children.
A widower undergoes a medical test during the sensitization program at Ogongo market in Mbita, Homa Bay County/Robert Omollo
Mboya argued that such a fund would cushion them against frustrations that can lead to harmful coping mechanisms, including entering relationships with widows indiscriminately or even suicide after losing their wives.
"Widowers perform the responsibilities of both a father and a mother to young children, which we are not used to. Some of us are left with many children we cannot take care of because of old age. We therefore appeal for the creation of a special fund to cushion us from distress, which may drive some of us to commit suicide," he said.
Christopher Ochungo, 90, said financial support would enable them to access medication more easily.
"Even medication is a problem because we don't have money for Social Health Authority (SHA) subscriptions. Creation of the fund will enable us to access good medical care," Ochungo said.
Director Okombo said frustration pushes many widowers into unlawful activities such as drug abuse, worsening the challenges they face.
"Some widowers engage heavily in drinking illicit brews because of frustration. They need serious help," Okombo said.
He said creating a special fund would improve the lives of elderly widowers.
"We appeal to the government to establish a special fund for widowers. They need a lot of guidance and counselling," he added.
Okombo initiated a programme to mobilise widowers into groups for empowerment.
"Some of them have testified here that they have married six women who left their previous marriages, but this predisposes them to diseases. These challenges expose widowers to the risk of contracting various diseases," he said.
The chief of Lambwe West Location, Fredrick Odero, said the tribulations faced by widowers also affect the growth and development of their children.
He said children from such families are affected academically because they are burdened with numerous household chores.
"We have received reports that children of many widowers have high rates of absenteeism from school," Odero said.
