-Toyibat Olakunle
A heartbreaking appeal has gone out to kind-hearted Nigerians to come to the rescue of a pregnant widow and her four children who are currently homeless and struggling to survive under extremely harsh conditions at Agbamu area of Ifelodun Local Council Development Area of Lagos state.
The woman, identified as Mrs. Chinomso Blessing Orjiakor, an indigene of Ngor Okpala in Imo State, is heavily pregnant and presently living with her children and has been on the veranda of an abandoned building after life dealt her a devastating series of blows following the death of her husband.
Speaking amid tears and visible pain, the distraught mother pleaded for help, saying her children’s future now hangs in the balance.
“We need help. Please, Nigerians, help us. I need help to buy medicine. I am heavily pregnant, and my children are suffering. If not for my sake, help us for the sake of these innocent children and the unborn baby,” she cried.
According to her, life became unbearable after the death of her husband, which reportedly led to the collapse of the family’s means of survival. Unable to pay rent, she and her children were allegedly forced out after the house they occupied was sold.
With nowhere to go, the family reportedly sought temporary shelter inside a market where they struggled daily to survive.
Mrs. Orjiakor narrated that while searching for assistance and accommodation, she encountered a man who promised to help her secure a place to stay. Instead, she said, she was allegedly sexually abused and later abandoned after discovering she had become pregnant.
“I trusted him because he promised to help us get a house, but when I told him I was pregnant, he disappeared and abandoned my children and me,” she lamented.
Today, the pregnant widow and her children reportedly sleep outside on the veranda of an abandoned building, exposed to rain, mosquitoes, insecurity, and hunger.
Observers who visited the location described the environment as heartbreaking, noting that the building remains locked while the family survives outside with no proper shelter.
Even more troubling, the owner of the property has allegedly warned the family to vacate the premises immediately or risk being arrested by the police.
“We fear that he can come at any moment and throw us out,” she said helplessly.
Mrs. Orjiakor also revealed that efforts to seek support from both her family and her late husband’s relatives have yielded little or nothing.
According to her, members of her late husband’s family rarely answer her calls, while some allegedly expressed interest in taking away some of her children without providing meaningful support for the family’s survival.
“One of my husband’s brothers advised that if they truly want to help, they should support me to care for the children instead of separating them from me,” she explained.
She added that her own family is equally struggling financially and unable to provide the support she desperately needs.
The condition of the children has also raised concern.
Her first child, a 15-year-old boy, is currently in JSS3. The second child, a nine-year-old girl, is in primary school, while the third child, aged seven, is in KG2. The youngest is only two years old.
One of the children is also reportedly battling severe sores on the legs caused by mosquito bites that developed into painful wounds after repeated scratching.
Due to her pregnancy and worsening health condition, Mrs. Orjiakor said she can no longer work to support her children.
The family is therefore appealing to compassionate Nigerians, religious organisations, government agencies, humanitarian groups and public-spirited individuals to urgently come to their aid with shelter, food, medical care, and educational support for the children.
For this struggling mother, every passing day now comes with fear, uncertainty, and the painful question of how her children will survive sleeping outside in the cold and mosquitoes.
