Renowned Nigerian, singer/songwriter, actress, and human rights activist Onyeka Onwenu today announced the official release of ‘Rise Up,’ a new song written and produced in partnership with the Rose of Sharon Foundation (RoSF). The soulful and deeply inspiring song, which carries the ever-classic Afro-pop signature style of Ms Onwenu, is intended to draw attention to the plight of widows in the Nigerian society.
As a member of the Rose of Sharon Foundation’s board of trustees, Ms Onwenu has pledged her support for RoSF mission to continues to create socioeconomic empowerment for thousands of widows and orphans through several programs that ensure greater self-esteem and ease of socio-economic integration.
Commenting on the song, Onyeka Onwenu said, “In the span of my career, I have been privileged and immensely blessed by God to have worked on several projects – in film, television, music and otherwise. However, I must say that not many can compare to the passion I feel for what we are trying to achieve with the Rose of Sharon Foundation.
“My good sister, Apostle Folorunso Alakija, has been moved by God to provide succour to the plights of thousands of Nigerian widows, their children and indeed orphans, who constitute the greater percentage of the vulnerable in our society. She has been doing this for years, and I am only happy to lend my voice to the cause.
“As such, the song, ‘Rise Up,’ has been produced free of charge as my donation to the foundation. Furthermore, all proceeds that are generated from it will go directly to the cause of the foundation and the good work of providing support for our widows. I encourage all well-meaning Nigerians to ‘Rise Up’ and join us in the fight to mitigate the challenges facing widows and orphans in Nigeria.”
Apostle Folorunso Alakija, the founder of ROSF, commented, “Our vision for the foundation is firmly rooted in the word of God in James 1:27, which states, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
“Since the inception of the foundation in 2008, I am happy to say that we have impacted 6,000 beneficiaries. We are currently servicing 4,262 beneficiaries and we have 1738 beneficiaries who have been serviced and have achieved resilience with stable businesses and ability to care for themselves. Our total number of graduate orphans and widows’ children are 343. However, our vision is to increase these numbers significantly, even as we encourage other Nigerians – Corporates and individuals to join us for the official launch of the song through kind donations
“If we work together, we can surely eliminate the scourge that is now associated with widowhood in our country. We can help reduce if not completely eliminate, harmful and outdated cultural practices that punish and impoverish our widows.”
On her part, Dr Ndudi Bowei, country manager of the Rose of Sharon Foundation, praised Onyeka Onwenu’s artistry and disclosed that the song was now available on all major music streaming platforms. She also informed that Onyeka Onwenu would perform the song live at a widow’s concert scheduled to hold in Lagos on November 13.
She said: “Simply put, Rise Up is a brilliantly written song that helps portray our widows’ inherent beauty and strength, instilling pride in them despite all the difficulties they encounter daily. It will appeal to people of all ages and can now be downloaded on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and several other platforms. Also, In November this year, Ms Onwenu will grace our stage with a live performance of the song.”