Born 46 years ago, Hauwa, who died at 44 Army Reference Hospital Kaduna after battling with cancer for many years, spent most of her adult life caring for women and children in any way she could. She started taking care of orphans since she was 11, and continued till her death.
Though she started the orphanage in her father’s house on the same street before a well-meaning Nigerian built the present home, she never asked for help from Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), but rather, they came to her when they hear the quantum of work she is doing and the number of orphans she has under her care.
A popular response of hers when asked how they survive, is “Allah has been providing for us.”
Hauwa is survived by her six biological children, including Hafsat, Hussaina, Firdausi, Hassan, Hajara and Rukkaya, as well as 160 orphans of ages between 1 to 17. They are presently residing at a privately-owned home for orphans in Nassarawa area of Kaduna State.
Though a civil servant with a merger salary, Hauwa used her big heart and her belief that Almighty Allah will provide a means to bring succor for every child or person that crossed her path. Even aged women without families visited the late Hauwa for assistance.
Aminatu Aliyu, Hauwa’s mother, described her daughter as a good child. “She was a blessing to me and my family since she was a child. As a child, she loved to help people and she showed love to children younger than her. She was someone who would spend her last kobo to help another because she felt that person needed the money more. Even when she was battling for her life in the hospital just before the commencement of Ramadan, she did not for one day forget to ask about her children in the home. It seemed she was more concerned for them than herself.”
Aminatu said the house and their lives will never be the same now that Hauwa is gone. “I pray that Almighty Allah accepts her into Paradise,” the grieving mother told Daily Trust Saturday.
Aisha Usman, Hauwa’s aged grandmother, could not hold back tears as she prayed. “Hauwa will be missed; she was an exceptional person, someone who always thought of others’ even before her own children.”
Hauwa Jibril, one of the cooks at the orphanage, said what she will miss most about Hauwa is the sermons that she used to give. “She took me into the home when I was a child and she is the same person who married me off and taught me how to go through life. She would preach to us about being good.”
Retired Colonel Danjuma Alhassan, Hauwa’s ex-husband, described her as a good woman. “If there were more people like her, I’m sure poverty will be a thing of the past because she could spend her last money just to make someone else smile. She fought for what is right and never bent the rules just to please others. I pray others will emulate her good work, and keep her legacy alive.”
Basira Abubakar, Hauwa’s neighbor said, “I’ve never seen a woman like her. I moved into the area about four years ago, and she showed me nothing but love. She was very dedicated to the children in her home, and one could visibly see that she wanted nothing but the best for them. She was not a hypocrite, and was someone who would always correct people when they go astray.”
Aisha Yakubu, co-founder and chairperson of Al-Ilm Child Trust Foundation, has been working with Hauwa. She said, “Humanity has lost one of its finest, a compassionate mother to orphans, a fighter. May she rest in peace.” Daily Trust
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