Mentoring for At-Risk Nomadic Girls in Rural Niger

Rain for the Sahel and Sahara, support at risk-girls so they can thrive by partnering with local women mentors. These mentors have a profound impact on these children and their communities as a whole. The mentors monitor the children’s progress while providing guidance through their academic life. These mentors are involved with several families, through talking to parents and other family members.  Not only are these at-risk girls given important skills and knowledge by their mentors, but the mentors themselves are empowered and become community leaders or wise-women.

              To continue the momentous help that these mentors provide for these students we are providing a sustainable option for their future. Coupled with other income generating programs, providing a herd of goats for these mentors allows them to become independent. The students have a reliable mentor that is helping her community as well as them. This is the way to end the cycle of poverty in rural Niger. By partnering with local people developing a plan that works for them and helping students succeed.

            Your donations are doing more than changing lives; they are changing
opinions about the importance of a girl’s education. One of the biggest
challenges our mentors face is convincing parents -- most of whom have never
been to school -- of the importance of education, and that attending school is
beneficial for both the child and the family.

I meet with parents to explain my work to them and
convince them to allow me to work with their children.
For some parents, it is only after many conversations
about the importance of education that they come to
understand my role in the community.
- Mentor Zeinabou Djibo

Your continued support has allowed this unique program to thrive. In addition to
supporting students and teaching them about hygiene, health, and nutrition;
mentors pass on traditional artisan skills such as weaving, basket making, and
pottery; preserving a culture that is thousands of years old. Mentors also speak
to entire communities about the benefits of education, which earns mentors
respect and gives them a voice within their communities that they use to reach
far beyond classroom walls.

I raise awareness on different themes with my
students’ parents, my neighbors and my friends. If we
take the example of young girls, I try to raise
awareness by saying that no one should give girls who
are in elementary school off to marry. These girls have
not even reached the age of puberty yet. I also speak
with the young men to encourage them not to marry
young girls. One example I give is that if a girl that is
too young to be married [then] marries a boy, as soon
as she becomes pregnant she will have difficulty giving
birth. A young girl’s body cannot support a pregnancy
or giving birth.
-Mentor Addajhjat Anasbagor

Mentoring at-risk girls is one of our most important programs. These are children that are the first in their family ever to go to school. They need the guidance and support of their women mentors to help them down the path of academia. The average number of years that a girl stays in school is 3 and 4 for boys. They don't finish primary school. That is why it is so important to keep these children in school. They give back to their communities by teaching their families and friends all the subjects that they are taught. In Niger, students only could retake a year twice before being expelled. So the mentors also keep them motivated and give them confidence by teaching traditional crafts.

 Safiatou, a student mentored by Assamhat Kamay in the Tillaberi community of Lemdou, was among those who did not pass her 6^th grade exam last year. After failing, she moved back with her parents in Tinnaboa, about 10 miles from Lemdou. Not realizing she had the option to repeat the grade, her parents didn’t send Safiatou back to school in the fall.

 The Lemdou school director, Ayouba, became concerned when Safiatou failed to return. Students often return late at the start of the year, due to helping at home with harvesting or seeking herd pasture, family relocation during the rainy season, or religious holidays. Ayouba contacted Assamhat to ask about Safiatou’s whereabouts. Assamhat proceeded to walk the 10 miles to Tinnaboa to investigate her absence. She confirmed that her parents were aware that the school year had started but didn’t realize their daughter could still attend. Assamhat successfully resolving the misunderstanding and Safiatou rejoined her friends at school for a second chance.

 The role of the mentor as liaison between school staff and parents can’t be understated in cases like Safiatou. School directors often are unable to actively seek out each student and meet with parents who don’t understand the education system to address the multiple individual issues that come up during the year.

 Without her mentor, Safiatou would have simply missed out on her chance to complete elementary school and continue on to middle school. Though mentors work on an individual and small group basis, school staff understands their role as community agents of student advocacy. Teachers and school directors work actively with the mentors to bridge the worlds of school and community to ensure the growth and success of the student population.

 Safiatou

 “I have learned a lot of things through my mentor. She talks with us about health, telling us to be sure to wash our hands before and after we eat and to wash our clothes regularly. If we don’t wash them enough we can get a mark on our notebook.

She also helps us understand about education with examples about its importance.

 I share what I learn with my parents and with my friends. Even among us sponsored kids, I have a friend that speaks Songhai. I listen closely as my mentor explains something to us in Tamasheq, and when she finishes, I explain to my Songhai friend. She understands very well with me there.

 Our mentor also teaches us how to make crafts. It’s very important for us to learn crafts, because once I’ve come to make something well, I can also teach my little sisters, my friends and anyone else that wants to learn. It is also important for me to master the crafts since they are things that we use around the house. It is a big opportunity for me to know how to do the kind of work my parents do if in the future, I stay at home after I finish my studies.