Gender Equality Niger Project #4110

Mentoring for At-Risk Nomadic Girls in Rural Niger

by Rain for the Sahel and Sahara

Mentoring for At-Risk Nomadic Girls in Rural Niger

Project Report | Sep 24, 2019
Every student has a story. Every story matters.

By Freya Hoffman-Terry | Office Manager

Stories from Our Partners

Hadiza, Ounmou & Fatima Return to School

Anywhere in the world a new school year can bring up a mix of excitement and nerves. In Niger it's no different. Many of our rural and nomadic students are the first in their family, or even community to have the opportunity to pursue their education. They are eager to learn, but there is still a tension as they consider the long commutes on foot, the cost of school books and the challenge of studying topics that their parents never studied in a language that their family doesn't speak. Still they persist.

Here are some of their stories.

Hadiza is a middle school student from Arlit. She visited her cousin, Ounmou, in the town where her cousin was to be married. Ounmou was engaged but desperately wanted to continue her studies. With the support of her RAIN mentor, Ounmou was able to arrange to delay her marriage while she completed her studies. Hadiza was struck by Ounmou’s insistence on continuing her education.

Ounmou’s choices made an impression on Hadiza and encouraged her to stay in school as well.

Fatima , a Tuareg girl from a village east of Agadez, comp ares life at home with her experience at th e Agadez Learning Center. She writes:

“My family lives simply: the women do the housework and drive our herds to the pasture. There is no mill, no electricity, no boreholes to easily find water.

In my new middle school, the most impressive things are the classrooms, offices, sports fields, and school uniforms. The Agadez Learning Center impressed me the most with its study programs, dormitories, the food, the various advisory supports, and the students of different ethnic groups from different areas of the country.

When I finish my studies, I would like to become a primary school teacher, to live and not depend on anyone, and help my little brothers and sisters in my village. ”

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