February 15, (THEWILL) – Months ago, Mrs Abiola Jacob decided she would take her own life by jumping into the sea.
Being a widow for 17 years was bad enough. Not being able to make something of her life in her widowed state after trying for years was devastating. It was what Mrs Jacob could not take any more.
She probably was one of those people who have found themselves in a very dark place, where they cannot see any future, and they want to end it all. Death (by suicide) appears to make more sense to them than trying any further to give life another chance and persevere through the challenges they have lived with for long.
Mrs Jacob and others in her awful state do not consider that there are other people whose situations are far worse than theirs, but are hanging on and still trudging ahead in hope that better days would come. They do not think of drawing inspiration to live and keep trying from those other people. They just want to end their life.
She had enough of trying. She had lost the will to live and the drive to fight any more for a chance to make something of her life. But for providence, which positioned the “group of fishermen” that rescued her in the nick of time, she would have joined the growing statistics of people in Nigeria who commit suicide.
That Mrs Jacob still finds herself alive after bidding what she considered her final farewell to the world is one of those miracles that do not happen too often.
But that Mrs Jacob’s hope for a brighter future and the will to live and fight for one have been restored is all thanks to the Chinwe Bode-Akinwande Foundation (CBA Foundation) and the “public-spirited individuals and organisations that have continued to support the Foundation in its work amongst underprivileged widows and their vulnerable children, since 2015.”
Following the great rescue, the rescuers (those selfless fishermen) realised Mrs Jacob was one of the widows in that area who had been a recipient of donations made by the CBA Foundation, as part of its interventions to provide succour to vulnerable widows. They wasted no time in contacting the Foundation to see what further assistance it could provide.
The Foundation went beyond counselling and encouragement to provide Mrs Jacob with her desired means of livelihood – a provisions-retailing set-up with all the goods and tools (large stock of various brands of soft drinks, table and sachet water, biscuits, among others, as well as a constructed retail display stand, chair, sunshade/umbrella stand) that she would require to start trading right away.
The result of the Foundation’s effort has been magical! A hopeful and elated Mrs Abiola Jacob has emerged, now determined to make the best of her circumstances. The new glow of happiness her life radiates is evidence that she now has a new lease of life.
She now has her own grass-to-grace story, courtesy of the CBA Foundation, who helped to make “lemonade for her from the lemons life handed her.”
With a heartfull of praise for the Foundation, Mrs Jacob prays that “God will continue to provide for them and bless them.”
Her story is one that is likely to encourage a rethink in any vulnerable widows and challenged persons who have been contemplating suicide. Hence, this piece and other efforts to spread her new story.
The CBA Foundation was created to fulfil, especially for underprivileged widows and their vulnerable children. It is an effective vehicle through which resources can be channelled to help vulnerable widows and their children.
