The Widows and Orphans Development Foundation (WODF) was established in order to complement efforts being undertaken by various actors to address the social, economic, cultural and legal challenges that perpetuate injustice and violation of the human rights of widows as well as supporting orphans with the basic and educational needs.

WODF’s work is aligned with the Global Agenda – the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and guided by the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). 

The target groups for WODF’s work are widows, orphans and destitute women and children.

A widow is understood to be a female (a woman or a girl) who has lost her spouse or a legally recognized partner by actual or legally declared death and has not re-married.

An orphan is a child under the age of 18 who has lost one or both parents by way of death. UNICEF categorizes orphans into ‘single orphan’ – a child who has lost one parent – and ‘double orphan’ as a child who has lost both parents.

A destitute person means a person who lacks key life essentials such as food, shelter, water, health care and other necessities as a result of extreme poverty.