When USAID funding was cut, thousands in northern Nigeria lost access to health care, education, and basic protection. But local leader Dalhatu Musa Liman has a message for the world:
Dalhatu Musa Liman, community organizer and Executive Director of Humanity and Community Development Foundation, remembers the moment he realized his foundation’s programs would be directly affected by the USAID funding cuts.
“We felt crushed,” Dalhatu said. “We thought of the 100 young girls we promised education scholarships to—bright, determined, and hopeful. We thought of the girls in Saminaka who fetch dirty water every morning instead of going to school. We thought of the small green shoots planted by children under our Green Zamfara Initiative, who dreamed of a cooler, greener future.
“These weren’t just projects. They were promises, and for the first time we feared breaking them.”
And the people affected mean more to Dalhatu than names on a report. He knows them personally.
“Fatimah is 13 years old and lives in Janyau Community,” he continued. “She was the first girl in her family to ever go to school, supported by the nonprofit’s Education Scholarship for 500 Female Students project.”
After the sudden funding halt, support for the next group of girls had to be delayed. Families began pulling their daughters out of school. “Fatimah’s mother recently called us, pleading, “Please don’t forget the girls. You gave us hope we never had.”
Dalhatu and his team have not forgotten. But they are in a moment of crisis, and they need our united support. Dalhatu has a message for every donor reading this:
“We know you’re stretched. We know there are many needs. But we’re asking:
“Don’t turn away from the community builders who are holding the line. We are still here, with our hands in the soil, our hearts in the work, and our eyes on a better tomorrow.”
“You are not just funding a project, you are helping Fatimah stay in school. You are giving Aisha clean water. You are planting peace in a land too familiar with conflict.”
Dalhatu and his team are carrying so much, and they shouldn’t have to carry it alone. You can support their work directly by donating to one of their active projects on GlobalGiving—constructing boreholes to planting trees and providing scholarships.
You can also be part of a broader network of solutions by giving to GlobalGiving’s Community Aid Fund. This fund was created after the USAID funding collapse to uplift our locally-led partner organizations doing vital work in their communities.
Support the GlobalGiving Community Aid Fund
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