Mentoring for At-Risk Nomadic Girls in Rural Niger

      Niger is a country where the literacy rate is 15% among rural and nomadic people. Children have very little access to education. Many villages don’t have a middle school. Many families struggle just to send their child to elementary school. Even fewer get a higher education or make it passed high school. Rain’s Agadez Learning Center gives the opportunity of secondary education to motivated nomadic children of the surrounding area. The Agadez Learning Center is a safe, friendly and educational orientated program.

       “If I was not at the center I would have a lot of other work to do. I would prepare my own meals to eat. There would not be enough water, no light, no meat, no bed, no cooks, etc. My father would have to buy food so that I could study. Even to study I would have to use a kerosene lamp to learn. Truly there are many difficult things. I would have to buy things for school like pens, the uniform, and notebooks. There would also be no tutoring. Finally, there would be no fans or projector.” – Student Dafada.

      The alternatives to the ALC are bleak or non-existent. Most students would have to leave their villages and be given money by their parents, burdening their families still further. At these middle schools like the one in Ingal, thirty-five kids are stuffed into one room and are given few books or supplies. They have to find their own food and pay for school supplies, which is a challenge. 

       At the ALC the students want to become everything from builders to doctors. All the students come in with the purpose of helping their community. It is truly inspiring to witness these students push against the odds that are placed in front of them. Many of students use this opportunity to the best of their ability taking advantage of afterschool classes and the ability to study during the night.

        Really I am happy with RAIN’s center because they give me a bed, a mattress, a sheet, a blanket, and a mosquito net. There is also afterschool tutoring, the school uniform and school supplies. Every Sunday we have lamb meat and there is a cook that prepares meals for us and a guard that watches the center. – Student Maoude.

         By donating you are changing young girls’ and women’s lives. Your continued support allows those from impoverished areas to come together for a better chance, full of opportunities. Make a child smile today and change her life forever.