Restoring Dignity and Hope: CALMHAF’s Intervention for Widows in Bokkos
Bokkos LGA in Plateau State has experienced protracted armed banditry and communal violence, resulting in severe human rights violations, extrajudicial killings, mass displacement, and the breakdown of family structures. The Mushere community has been among the most affected. Widows whose husbands and primary attachment figures were killed face sudden widowhood, economic hardship, stigma, and trauma-related mental health challenges.
Cope and Live Mental Health Awareness Foundation (CALMHAF) is a mental health advocacy organization focused on awareness creation, mental health education, psychological counseling, advocacy, and psychosocial support for vulnerable and crisis-affected populations. This intervention was entirely self-funded by CALMHAF; all costs (logistics, materials, palliative support, and personnel) were borne by the organization without external donor funding for this activity.
On Monday, 5th October 2026, the Cope and Live Mental Health Awareness Foundation (CALMHAF) sat with 25 widows and internally displaced women at COCIN Central Church in Bokkos. Many of them had come from Mushere and other communities that have been repeatedly struck by violence. Led by CALMHAF Plateau State Programs Manager, Mr Amos Zingven Selkap, the team spent the day listening, counseling, and offering psychosocial support to women still carrying the weight of sudden loss, prolonged grief, and displacement. Before they left, each woman received a wrapper and a small envelope of cash — a quiet gesture of dignity and immediate relief. What unfolded that day was more than an activity; it was an attempt to hold space for collective trauma and to begin rebuilding the social support these women need to keep going.
Read the full account of the intervention, and how you can support the next phase of this work here: