WOFAN Turns Years of Hardship into Renewed Hope for Spinal Cord Patient in Jigawa
By Lamara Garba | Veteran Journalist, Kano
For 16 years, Rakiya Ibrahim watched her son, Zuladaini Attahir, lose nearly everything. A former sand miner who once earned his living through hard physical labour, Zuladaini suffered a spinal cord injury that ended his ability to work. His two wives left him. Poverty deepened. His home fell into disrepair. His ageing mother became his sole caregiver, provider and source of support. At times, Rakiya travelled to neighbouring villages to beg for food.
That long season of isolation and hardship began to change when Zuladaini’s story reached the Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN), led by its Founder, Director and Global Advocate, Hajiya Dr Salamatu Garba. The organisation responded with practical, targeted support that restored both dignity and opportunity.
Practical Support for Dignity and Livelihood
WOFAN rebuilt Zuladaini’s home, installed a solar power system so he could generate income by charging mobile phones, and provided food to ease the family’s immediate hardship. The solar installation offers a foundation for a small, sustainable business that reduces his complete dependence on others.
The intervention also reached the wider Warwade community in Birnin Kudu Local Government Area of Jigawa State. WOFAN commissioned a borehole with more than six water collection points and connected the supply directly to Zuladaini’s residence. It inaugurated five community groups—four women’s groups and one men’s group—to strengthen participation in empowerment programmes focused on capacity building, financial inclusion and livelihood support.
Community Voices and Broader Impact
At the commissioning ceremony, Dr Garba was represented by the District Head of Aujara, Alhaji Aminu Dan Mallam. The Chairman of Persons with Disabilities in Birnin Kudu Local Government Area, Mallam Adamu Abdullahi, commended WOFAN and recalled earlier support that included 30 bags of fertiliser and farming equipment for association members.
Sadiya Ibrahim, Chairperson of the Small-Scale Traders Association in Birnin Kudu, noted that WOFAN had previously provided rice and start-up capital that helped members establish businesses. Aminu Siraj, Chairman of the Logistics Operators and Tricycle Riders Association, explained that tricycles supplied through WOFAN had improved members’ livelihoods, with proceeds saved in their group account.
These examples reflect an approach that combines immediate humanitarian relief with longer-term economic empowerment and community infrastructure.
A Message of Worth and Shared Responsibility
Zuladaini expressed deep gratitude to WOFAN, Dr Salamatu Garba, those who brought his situation to public attention, and the traditional leaders and community members who supported him. His mother, equally emotional, prayed for abundant reward for the woman whose intervention eased a burden she had carried for years.
The rebuilt home offered more than shelter; it restored a measure of security and dignity. The food assistance reduced daily anxiety. The prospect of income for her son offered the possibility that she might one day depend less on her own increasingly limited strength.
Zuladaini’s experience highlights how disability, poverty and social isolation can push vulnerable people to the margins. It also raises questions about society’s responsibility toward persons with disabilities and the elderly parents who often care for them alone. While government bears primary responsibility for protecting vulnerable citizens, organisations such as WOFAN can complement public efforts through targeted interventions, community mobilisation and livelihood programmes.
Dr Garba’s response demonstrates the difference between hearing about suffering and taking concrete steps to address it. True leadership appears not only in public ceremonies but in the willingness to reach people whose circumstances make assistance difficult to obtain.
The solar system, the borehole and the five community groups create a platform for sustained benefit. With continued participation and support, these initiatives can extend beyond the initial intervention.
In Warwade, WOFAN has helped turn a long period of hardship into a new chapter of possibility. For a mother who remained when others left, a young man seeking to reclaim a measure of independence, and a community looking toward better days, the intervention offers renewed confidence in tomorrow.
When compassion is expressed through practical action, a rebuilt home becomes a sanctuary, a borehole becomes a source of relief, and a helping hand becomes the beginning of a different story. Through this work, Hajiya Dr Salamatu Garba and WOFAN have shown that the true measure of support lies not merely in what is given, but in the lives lifted from despair toward hope.