With the help of our Remember Niger team, and especially the coordinator of our sponsorship program, Pat McKisson, we were able to find sponsors for a total of 49 (make that now 50!) students.   And, others donated to the program without specifically sponsoring a child.

To say this is exciting is an understatement!

Thank you to all who are now sponsors, to all who spread the word, and to all who support us in all sorts of ways.

View the result on YouTube.

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!

I’ve already booked my next trip in July.  So my thoughts turn to, “What’s Next?”  Well, for starters…

1)      If you were able to read the previous blog posts, I hope you got a sense of just how far we’ve come!  The progress is wonderful; the enthusiasm of the Administrators, Teachers and Students is unmatched!  I compare our progress to the stages of life – previously our goals were a glimmer, then infancy, now we are really starting to crawl and maybe even taking a few solid steps!

2)      We have several targeted programs including Sponsorship, Food Program, Computer Lab, Teacher Training, Facility Construction and Furniture. While there, I spent a great deal of time talking with the EERN about their needs and their priorities and how we fit in.

3)      How can we continue to mobilize our efforts?  If you have your own thoughts, please send them to me!

4)      Our partners here in the U.S. – churches, schools, individuals – are eager to see the videos and pictures created during this latest trip.  I can’t wait to show you!!

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and support during the trips and always!  I cannot tell the number of times I heard our friends in Niger express their gratitude for your support and all that you are doing.  I really wish you could have been there with me, to see first hand the enormous impact you are having!  You are truly helping to transform lives.  Thank you!

Anna and I visited the Tsibiri Boarding School Saturday morning.  While most of the boarding students were busy doing their Saturday chores, such as washing their clothes, cleaning their dorms, and combing and braiding hair, as well as playing games, the 6th grade students were busy studying for their end of the year exam.  This exam is a very big deal in Niger.  If a student doesn’t pass, then he or she cannot go onto middle school.  Students can take it twice, but they have to redo 6th grade as well and wait an entire year to retake the exam.  The pass rate in Niger is normally around 50%.  I’m proud to report that the pass rate at the Tsibiri Boarding School is always above 90%.

While giving Anna a tour of the school, I noticed that they are getting low on food supplies.  They have traditionally received a lot of assistance through the UN’s World Food Program.  However, with the economic downturn, that assistance has been greatly reduced over the past few years.  Fortunately, a youth group at a supporting church raised over $4,000 through a hunger strike fundraiser – which means that the school’s food supplies will be replenished!  The staff and students are incredibly grateful!

My attention will soon turn back to the states; I am due to return this week.  I always have mixed feelings when I leave – I am eager to get back but also miss friends, and staff, teachers and children in the schools here in Niger.  I’ve already been planning for the next visit, in July.  So, I’ll be back soon!

I had a great trip to Zinder!  It’s amazing to see how far that school has come!  When I first came to Niger in 2006, they were just starting construction on the first building. The notion of children being educated on the campus was still a dream.  Now, six years later, there are over 150 students in kindergarten through 6th grade. And, thanks to the Presbyterian Women Thank Offering Grant, they are nearly finished with the third block of classrooms, which means that over 100 more children will have the opportunity to go to a great school!  That is an amazing amount of progress in a short amount of time…

It was fun to see the computer lab set up and being used.  Grades 4 – 6 go to computer class three times a week.  The kids are so excited about getting to use computers and are not at all timid about trying new things.  They are learning the basics now, how to use the computer as well as Microsoft Word and Excel.  At this point, the only thing they really need is a projector for instruction.

Each of the three schools we support have their own distinct culture.  From my perspective, the kids at the Zinder school are really open and ready to enjoy themselves.  This is true at the the other schools as well, but more so at Zinder.  I found myself joking around and laughing with many of the children.  It was refreshing, because my normal experience is that the students are unsure of what to think of this strange American woman who pops in once or twice year.

The pictures show more than what I could describe in words - the construction of the buildings, and the eagerness of the students and joy at learning something new!  As I said, to go from the dream of a school to teaching children how to use computers in just six short years — it is truly amazing!

While I was still in Niamey, I had the opportunity to visit Hannatou.  I stayed with Hannatou and her family for nearly a year when I lived in Niger, and we have been good friends ever since.  During this visit, I met a woman who has to go for dialysis twice a week because her kidneys have shut down. I cannot imagine having to do this treatment in Niger.  Aichatou is about 50 years old and her family lives in city that’s 12 hours east of Niamey.  The only dialysis center in Niger is in Niamey.  Fortunately, Hannatou has opened her home to her so she is able to get the treatment she needs.  I just don’t know what will happen to her.  I guess she will have to continue with the dialysis for the rest of her life since there’s no possibility of a kidney transplant in Niger.  It’s really heartbreaking.

On a more positive note, I’m going to visit the Zinder primary school later this week.  I’m eager to see how the construction of the new school building is coming along, as well as observe some classes in the new computer lab we installed in August.  The new school building will make room for three more classes, which means that over one hundred more students will get to go to school!

The Camel Ride

I saw Alice, Rae Ann and Karissa off last night.  Their plane left Niamey around 1am, and, if my calculations are correct, by now Alice is at home and Rae Ann and Karissa are waiting for their final flight.  It always feels a bit strange when my volunteers leave before I do – as if there is a bit of a void.  I really enjoyed this group and was sad to see our time come to an end.

The last few days in Maradi were spent doing tourist type activities. On Saturday morning we went for a camel ride.  When I was arranging this activity I imagined that there would be one camel and we would take turns riding it. But, when we arrived, there were four beautifully saddled camels waiting to be ridden.  I have to say that Rae Ann looked down right regal sitting on her camel.  On the other hand, my riding skills left something to be desired.  My camel stopped to snack on a tree once or twice and, at one point led me right through the branches of a thorn tree.  Also, I seemed to be in an awkward “leaning forward” position the entire time.  In fact, after we were safely off, I saw my “leader” examining the saddle,  rearranging it, laughing and saying something to his colleagues.  While I don’t speak his language, I imagined he was saying something like, “Wow! I’m surprised she didn’t fall off!”. Of course, I’m just guessing.  There may have been nothing wrong…besides my lack of skills.

Later that afternoon, Alice arranged for everyone to have Henna done and then we ate an African meal – which we had ordered from a Nigerien friend.  The peanut sauce was amazing!

We got up early the next day and traveled to Niamey.  The best part of the trip was that the giraffes were right by the road when we passed the giraffe preserve.  This was a great surprise and incredibly convenient since I was still trying to figure out a way to fit a trip to see the giraffes into the last couple of days.

We were able to accomplish a good deal during our time together and we had a lot of fun doing it!  I still have a few weeks remaining here, with much to be done including planning for the July trip!  The trips always come up quickly!

Mariama and Alice

I am often asked what daily life is like for the average Nigerien, particularly for primary students in Niger.  It’s difficult to explain that to someone who has never visited the country. So, I decided that a video may be helpful.

As a former Peace Corps Volunteer in the same village where the boarding school is, Alice seemed like the perfect person to help with this project.  Happily, she followed Mariama around with a video camera from dawn to dusk. I feel so fortunate that Mariama’s family was so gracious about letting us do that. I have to say that I learned so much more about life here from watching the video. I’m looking forward to showing it to people in the States.  The following is Alice’s very moving account of the day:

Our unsuspecting heroine

Who knew a shy seven year old nigerienne could be such a star?

It made my day of shadowing a child in Niger to capture the essence of an average “day in the life” in Niger surprising, and, without a doubt, fun. I had set out to show the “typical” day: repetitious tasks, daily school lessons, the usual processes that make Nigerien life different from life in America.

From the start, Mariama showed me and all those who will view her “day” that she is far from average and that daily life in Niger is far from typical.  Mariama seemed unphased, rather, determined, to shown the foreign visitor in her home (me!) from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning, til the moment she closed them at night what life was truly like for her.  She set about her tasks with concentration and ease.  From feeding the fire so she could take a warm bath, to dutifully following her teachers’ lesson at school, to fighting the swarm of school colleagues so she could purchase a mid-day snack, Mariama proved herself independent, driven and patient.

Throughout the day, amongst the masses of school children, Mariama always stood out. Part of it was her outstanding character, part of it her bright-green hijab (head covering) she had selected to wear. By the end of the day, Kara and I had decided that Mariama was indeed a heroine, and her hijab was her “costume”.

Our heroine showed me that no day and no child in Niger is indeed average. What is routine for her (lighting a fire so she could bathe with warm water) is otherworldly to me. I saw, through tagging along closely with our nigerienne heroine, that each day is unique, each child outstanding, making Niger far from typical indeed.

We were able to tour the hospital in Danja and shadow Dr. Mark on his morning rounds. The hospital is made up of multiple low buildings built of cement blocks with cement floors. The windows all have screens on them, but the insidious dust is everywhere, as are the flies. There is quite a variety of case types, the malaria being a contributing factor in most of the patients. About half of the cases are leprosy and between that and the burn patients there is quite a lot of wound care. They are limited to gauze and water or saline, none of the fancy products we use in the States.

We were able to speak with a woman who had delivered a baby at home on Sunday and nearly died from complications. Dr Mark was able to speak via phone with the midwife and guide her through the treatment. She was transported to the hospital, given IV fluids and antibiotics and was discharged with her healthy baby on Wednesday.  An amazing story!

I saw equipment—-but not much of it—–that I hadn’t seen since I was working in a Duluth hospital 40 years ago! Manual BP cuffs, stainless steel trays and forceps, etc., that are autoclaved on site. No disposables! Paper charts, one room lab and pharmacy, 4 & 5 bed wards with no sinks or toilets in any of them. The family is responsible for the care, food and linens of each patient.  We could see them camped out on the edge of the hospital grounds.  The nurses were very busy helping with rounds and administering the medications.

Television shows can give a slight insight  into what to expect in terms of accommodations, but in all honesty, one cannot imagine the number of flies resting on healing wounds, the smell of having fifteen plus people in the same room who haven’t showered in days, and the amount of suffering from ailments that are easily curable in the United States.  It breaks your heart to think of the strict rules and regulations we have to benefit us in developed areas, where here most of those things go out the window simply because they don’t have the supplies or number of bodies needed to make hospitals run as cleanly.  In the US it takes a couple of hours to discharge a patient, but here the doctor says you can go and 15 minutes later…you’re gone!  No papers to sign at all! So in some people’s eyes I suppose it would be a benefit! Speaking with Dr. Mark afterward, I referred to his “calling” and he informed us that it was actually a privilege and not a calling at all. He is grateful to be working with the people of Niger. And he really means it, you can see it as he travels about the hospital.

Newly constructed bed and desk, and Ibrahim and Isti

We’ve had the opportunity to visit two of the three schools we support.  I’m so happy to see the progress that has been made!  I found out that 10 new girls are now attending the boarding school because of our new sponsorship program.  When the director learned about the program, he went into the village and found girls whose families are too poor to send them to school.  The parents were thrilled that their daughters are now able to get a great education.  News like this warms my heart and inspires me work even harder to ensure that more kids get to go to school!

I was also very happy to see the new school at Aguie.  It’s so great to see the building completed and children being taught in classrooms.  The teachers and students couldn’t be more pleased!  Considering how windy, dusty and cold it is, it’s great to know that they are warm and protected from the elements.  It’s amazing that 60 degrees can feel soooo cold to Nigeriens.  It’s not uncommon to see people wearing winter coats!

One of the biggest needs at all of the schools seems to be desks for the students and beds at the boarding school. We were able to raise enough money at alternative markets in November and December for 15 desks and 5 beds.  But that just scratches the surface of what is needed. In total, we need between 30 and 40 more desks and 15 more beds.

The photo shows a newly constructed bed and desk.  Also shown are Ibrahim, the EERNs Education Committee President and Isti, the Director of the Tsibiri School.