Beware of Ben 10s, says MEC
MEC Thandi Shongwe has warned and advised widows against Ben 10s.
WHITE RIVER – Shongwe argued that many widows fall into the trap of being wooed and misled by Ben 10s (younger men) who are on a mission to steal their inheritance.
“The Bible teaches us to be smart. A smart woman builds her own home, but a foolish one lets Ben 10s in to destroy it. My advice to all widows is to stay away from Ben 10s, because they are nothing but trouble,” warned Shongwe.
She was speaking during the Department of Social Development’s first session of the Widow’s Forum at Ingwenyama Conference & Sports Resort on Friday.
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Shongwe is the brains behind this forum. She established it seven years ago after the passing of her husband.
“As widows, it is imperative that we act and lead our lives with dignity and always guard against new tendencies of throwing ourselves at younger men and looking for affection from them. We must protect our inheritance with our lives so that our kids can benefit from it. That inheritance is for our children’s education, and not Ben 10s,”
stressed Shongwe.
She said this platform will provide widows an opportunity to come together and raise their concerns and challenges that they face in society and in their families.
“Widows are very vulnerable and they don’t have a platform where they can raise their issues. There are so many challenges that widows face. Some can’t even transfer their properties into their own name after their husband has passed on.
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Many suffer great humiliation and are even thrown out into the streets by their in-laws.
With this forum, we want to help guide widows regarding what to do and where to go to when they are in those situations,” said Shongwe.
The forum is chaired by business guru, Dr Nora Fakude-Nkuna. Since its formation she has supported many widows with food parcels and sometimes with school fees for their children.
“I understand the pain of being a widow and having nothing in hand to offer your children. This is the only reason I
became part of this forum – to help uplift widows who are most often left with huge responsibilities of raising children while at the same time keeping the fires burning at home.
“We need to take this forum to another level and ensure it touches the lives of many widows throughout Mpumalanga, especially in the deep rural areas where information is scarce,” said Fakude-Nkuna.
