Remember Niger is an organization dedicated to uniting people and mobilizing resources to expand quality educational opportunities in Niger, Africa.

Bike for Food, Bike for Change

Right now the Sahel region of Africa, which includes Niger, is in a state of "hunger emergency." In Niger alone, half a million children are at risk for malnutrition and starvation. Remember Niger Coalition is coordinating bike- and walk-a-thons across the country to try and raise $25,000 for Famine Response programs and other vital services at the schools we serve in Niger.

The a-thons will take place on May 19th, June 2nd or 9th, 2012 in:

Grand Rapids, MI (partnering with the 100 Grand Bicycle Tour on June 2)
Charleston, SC (June 2)
Washington, DC (June 2)
New York, NY (May 19)
Twin Cities, MN (June 9)

Join Us! We are looking for...

People to bike, walk or run
People to volunteer at the event to cheer us on
Donors to support our participants

Visit www.RememberNiger.DoJiggy.com and our Facebook page to learn more.

Merci Beaucoup!

To all who subscribe to our emails and newsletters, donate, sponsor students, volunteer, participate in our fundraisers, travel to Niger on our mission trips, spread the word and follow us on our website, blog and Facebook...Thank you!

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What is daily life like for a child in Niger? That is a question I get a lot. And, it's a question that I find difficult to answer. So, while I was in Niger this past January, we followed a young girl around for a day with a video camera. A friend then compressed those hours into 4 minutes! Here's the result:

Mariama is anything but typical! She has been given the opportunity to attend school because of her sponsor. Six out of ten people in Niger will never walk into a classroom. This opportunity will give her the tools to transform her life and the lives around her!

Please consider a donation of any amount. Donations may be made using a check or credit card.

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Remember Niger is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

Learn more about the programs, people, the church and Niger:

President's Perspective
By Kara VanderKamp

April, 2012

What happens to graduates of the schools we support? Do they go on to high school and college? Are they able to get jobs? If so, where do they work? These were some of the questions I set out to answer when I visited Niger in January. While I already had a general sense of the answers, I thought it would be interesting and helpful to talk to graduates. I wanted to see what they are up to now and, looking back, what they thought about their education.

That is how I happened upon a really interesting and entertaining conversation with Ilisha. He works as a nurse at a mission hospital in a small village not far from the boarding school he attended and we support. He graduated almost 25 years ago and has worked as a nurse for about 15 years. He’s a tall, thin man who has a very pleasant demeanor. He lit up when I asked him about the boarding school. He told me about how he really enjoyed his experience because of the teachers and how serious they are. Not only do the teachers like their students and enjoy what they’re doing, but more specifically, that they teach the entire time they are in class and they rarely miss a day’s work. This is not the norm in Niger. It reminded me of what one parent told me, “I believe that this is one of the last schools in Niger where the teachers like teaching and the students like learning.”

Ilisha also told me an amusing story that he obviously enjoyed telling as much as I enjoyed hearing. It was about how he and his friends decided to sneak some mangos from the local mango tree. While it was funny to hear Ilisha tell about the camaraderie and the trouble they got themselves into more striking to me was the information he gave about each friend as he listed them off.

All seven of them have very good jobs. The professions include working for large aide organizations, such as World Vision, high level government jobs, nursing, teaching and one man even owns his own business. Ilisha sends all three of his children to the boarding school. He told me that while he would love to have them stay at home and attend the local village school, he believes that the boarding school is the best boarding school in Niger. He wants his children to have the same opportunities he had.

I’ve witnessed the commitment EERN staff and teachers have to what they are trying to accomplish. Remember Niger’s efforts to help them will truly lead to more success stories such as Ilisha’s.

Footprints to Niger

The path that Remember Niger Coalition has taken has led us to so many wonderful opportunities, among them a connection, started in 2010, between Footprints Academy in Woodbury, Minnesota and the schools we support in Niger. This year, ties were further strengthened by a second supply drive, as well as a creative art project.

Footprints to Niger In January, Kara and our volunteers delivered the supplies – including a lot of pencils – and drawings that Footprints students created on one side of a large piece of paper. The Nigerien students used the art supplies to draw pictures on the other side of the paper, and the completed drawings were brought back and presented to Footprints this March.

Kara spoke at a student assembly and shared the video, “A Day in the Life”. The following are a few of the thoughts from the Footprints Academy students after seeing the video:

“I got to see what Niger was like and their lifestyle of living. When I saw them playing games and their new playground I was happy for them! I hope I will learn more and more about Niger, and help even more.”
“So I have learned that the next time I get upset because I did not get what I want, I will remember Niger.”
“In the Niger video I observed that they do things differently than us, like clothes, routine, languages house and school. I like how they do things different!!!”
“In Niger, they wear beautiful, colorful, modest dresses to school. At Footprints Academy, we wear navy blue and khaki pants or skirts. In Niger, they heat their water over a fire. In Minnesota, we just turn the hot water on! I thought the video was a great insight on a day in Niger!”
“I feel sad because they don’t have many clothes and not much food, and proud because we helped them, and happy because they worked hard and cared and appreciate it.”
“My heart filled with joy when Ms. Kara showed us pictures of them.”
“Niger should be the ‘bestist’ place in the world!”