The President, Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA), Mrs Oghogho Musa, has stressed the need for wives of military personnel to pay adequate attention to their mental health and wellbeing.
Mrs Musa said this on Tuesday at a seminar with the theme, “Self Care and Work/Life Balance” organised by the National Defence College Officers Wives Association (NDCOWA) as part of activities lined up for the Graduation of NDC Course 31 participants.
She said the wives of officers were often left alone at the home front dealing with so much stress since their husbands were most times not around.
She said that sensitising military wives through such programme would help them to be able to cope with whatever stress or challenge they might face as primary caregivers at home.
“It is very important that we organise such programme for us to be able to educate the children, people around us and then to be able to deal with the total wellbeing of everyone around them,” she said.
The Coordinator of NDCOWA, Mrs Rhoda Olotu, said the programme would help to bring about an intentional attitudinal change towards the wholesomeness of being an officer’s wife and living right.
Olotu said the need to live up to expectations in terms of meeting extended family needs and many more reasons had compelled the modern day woman to go out in search of full time jobs that were mostly demanding while still holding on to their homes.
According to her, it will be stating the obvious that these take tolls on the women, not only physically but mentally.