By Esther Schaeffer, serving with The Alliance in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, West Africa
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27a, NLT).
A widow’s life in Burkina Faso is one of heartbreak. When her husband dies, she not only loses her life partner, she often also loses her home and children. Upon a husband’s death, land and property revert back to his people, leaving the widow emotionally as well as financially destitute.
In response to their plight, our Alliance district widows’ group has an active, vital care-giving ministry to, and among, these women who suffer so much.
Challenges, Opportunities
We now look after 220 widows through this outreach, which includes quarterly seminars on topics such as health and wellness. And we have seen many answers to prayer.
Yet challenges remain, including visitation and follow up with such a large group. Some of the widows are now too old to leave their homes. Others are at risk of turning to prostitution. In a country where about 80 percent of families are subsistence farmers, a widow is left with little means of sustenance when the land reverts back to her husband’s people after his death.
Keeping a widow with her children also is a challenge. Relatives often take them because the woman can’t afford to feed her children or pay for their schooling. We are heartbroken by some of the situations into which these little ones are forced.
Through this ministry we have a wide-open door to counsel, teach, encourage, and provide needed life skills—making a way for these widows to rise above their difficult situations.
Among the Poorest
We also have a number of churches that support special projects to assist widows.
Several years ago the women attending Yegereso Alliance Church decided to put James 1:27 into practice, inviting all of the widows in their village to a meal on Women’s Sunday. This annual event in our Burkina churches includes promoting local women’s ministries and reporting on Alliance Women (AKA Great Commission Women) activities at the national level—a meal and outreach activity often follow the service.
The Yegereso church women cook the meal all day, and at 3 p.m., with singing and dancing, they greet the widows as they arrive. After a brief presentation of the gospel and prayer, each woman receives a heaping plate of food and is later sent home with gifts of soap and bread.
God’s Love Expressed
This year, I received an invitation to share the Word of God with these special invited guests. What a surprise for everyone when 52 widows attended—many walked from other villages!
During the gathering I noticed that these women were among the poorest and most downcast I have encountered in my 25-plus years serving in Burkina Faso. It was a joy to witness the transforming power of Christ’s love, as smiles and laughter began to permeate our gathering.
The pastor’s wife later told me that this would not be the end of the event. The widows would all wake up early the next morning and go to the Christian woman who lived nearest to her, thanking her for the kindness extended. Each would again receive the wonderful encouragement of realizing someone cares.
When God asks us to demonstrate true religion, He knows the blessing it will be to both the one who receives and the one who extends the kindness.
Pray
“We are encouraged that the government has now officially recognized our widows’ group,” Esther adds. “This is a big step toward obtaining property to build a center—our prayer for this year—where widows can gather any time to learn job skills and support one another.”
Join the Alliance family in praying for our workers in Burkina Faso and worldwide, who are taking the good news—in word and deed—to some of the most spiritually dark places on earth. Use the weekly Alliance Prayer Requests to assist you.
Learn More
Read more about the plight of Burkina Faso’s widows in “No Longer Alone,” an article Esther wrote for Alliance Life several years ago.
In “Honest Testimony Draws Inmates to Christ,” Esther unpacks the Bobo prison team’s outreach to another highly marginalized group of people in Burkina—female inmates.