Scarlet Cord Brings Hope to Southern Kaduna Widows, Blends Trauma Healing with Enterprise for Lasting Peace
By: Labaran Ahmed A non-profit organisation committed to rebuilding lives shattered by insecurity, Scarlet Cord Initiative for Women and Youth, has expanded its grassroots intervention to Gumel in Kachia Local Government Area of southern Kaduna, where it delivered a two-day holistic empowerment programme to about 100 widows traumatised by banditry, kidnapping and insurgency. Held in Gora community, the programme marked a decisive shift from short-term relief to sustainable empowerment, combining trauma psycho-support, mentorship, skills development, financial literacy and enterprise advocacy. Widows drawn from Awon, Ungwan Bawa, Gadanaji and Gora—communities repeatedly hit by violent attacks—were deliberately taken through healing before business training, ensuring that economic skills would take root on restored emotional ground. The opening session set the tone. Through a symbolic “Yarn Coil” exercise, participants passed a ball of yarn from h...