Traversing Niger

We traveled three hours by road yesterday to visit the other primary schools we support. The children are very energetic and eager to learn, and the teachers seem to really enjoy their jobs. Their enthuisiasm definitely motivates and encourages us to continue our work with Remember Niger. I'm looking forward to getting to know the children and teachers better while we work on art projects together in a week or two.

This morning, Ruth and I went to Tsibiri and worked on penpal letters with the children. An elementary school in Minnesota sent letters to the Nigerien children, and then the children in Niger responded. It was fun to read what the kids wrote. Below is an example and I've included the author's picture. Moise is one of the children who receives a full scholarship from Remember Niger.

Bonjour My Friend,

My name is Moise and I am 14 years old. I live in Niger. It is cold now, but it's not raining. My favorite animal is the lion. In Niger we eat millet, rice, meat, etc... My friends are Hassane and Kalleb. My pet is a dog. I'm telling you that I live with my mother, but my father died in 2006. In Niger we have wild animals: giraffes, rats, birds and insects, like: mosquitos. We are in the cool and dry season because it doesn't rain. Also, I like sheep and I like to celabrate Christmas and Easter.

Hot Sun!

I arrived in Niger yesterday, and I finally found an internet connection this evening - which is not an easy task! I'm traveling with Ruth Jones, a Remember Niger board member for the first week. So far, we are having a great time. Yesterday, we went shopping for soap stone nativity sets, animals and masks. We like to use these items at alternative markets and fundraising events throughout the year. On the corner of a busy intersection in Niamey there are around 10 or 12 men who carve soap stone for a living. They display their creations on tarps on the sand in the blazing hot sun. We spent over 2 hours purchasing everything we needed. It takes a lot of time to decide what you want, bargain to the right price and buy at least something from each of the craftsman. By time we finished, it felt like a good morning's work!

Today, we traveled to Maradi and visited one of the schools we support in the area. This is the same school where I did art projects with the students last year. It was a lot of fun seeing the kids again and talking about all of the fun things we did last year!

Well, I feel like I'm being "bitten alive" by mosquitos, so I better get going. I'll write more soon and will post pictures with my next entery. Thanks for reading this and, as always, please feel free to leave a comment.

2011 NIGER TRIP

I leave for a month long trip to Niger next Monday. Please follow my adventures by checking back to this page every few days. Also, you can click on the "follow" button to the right of this entry in order to leave comments and messages.

I plan to write about all of the interesting things I come across as I meet with our partners, visit primary schools and do art and craft projects with the kids. Also, I'll report on how our support is making a difference in individual lives in Niger. So many of you have given support for student scholarships, school supplies, teacher training scholarships, school construction and the new food program. My plan is to talk to the people who are impacted by your generosity and then write about it. I would really like this to be INTERESTING and INFORMATIVE, so please let me know what you want to know! I welcome comments and questions.