“If you cannot feed a thousand mouths, feed just one.” – Mother Teresa
Continuing its mission of giving dignity to widows in need through its annual Empowerment Programme, Servants for the Needy Foundation (SNF) successfully concluded its 2026 Empowerment Programme, in which 24 beneficiaries received financial support to sustain and grow their small-scale enterprises or start new ones.
The empowerment initiative, held in Kaduna, focused on uplifting individuals from underprivileged backgrounds, especially widows and orphans, by providing capital to overcome economic challenges and pursue productive livelihoods. The Foundation made the following disbursements:
• 23 beneficiaries received ₦100,000 each,
• 1 beneficiary received ₦50,000.
Total Amount Paid in Empowerment: Two million, three hundred and fifty thousand naira (₦2,350,000)
The Founder and CEO of the Foundation, an Edward Mason Fellow and Master of Public Administration Candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Alum of Harvard Divinity School (MTS ’25), Chief Servant Emmanuel Junior Zakka, attributed the success of the programme to the generous donations of his friends, classmates, and members of the foundation. He expressed heartfelt gratitude to them for their sacrificial giving and unwavering support, which made the empowerment initiative possible. To God be the glory.
Some of the beneficiaries, visibly moved with emotion, expressed their gratitude to the foundation, its members, and all who made it possible for them to receive the support. “We came here with nothing but hope, and now we are leaving with capital and a future,” one of the beneficiaries said.
Through initiatives such as this, Servants for the Needy Foundation continues to uphold the time-honoured values of charity, stewardship, and communal responsibility. It stands as a shining testimony to what can be accomplished when hearts and hands unite in the service of others.
Servants for the Needy was founded in February 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic by Emmanuel Junior Zakka, who was raised by a widow through hardship and perseverance. Since its founding, the Foundation has been able to reach approximately 1,000 beneficiaries with its food subsidy support initiative and over 50 people through its empowerment programme. The mission of the foundation is to provide food subsidies, soft skills and start-ups, while mobilizing support for vulnerable widows in the hope of empowering many out of abject poverty to live meaningful lives.
Pastor Jerome Akyasa Waziri
Secretary of the Foundation
