Herding for Sustainable Futures

Project Report | Apr 24, 2019
Zeinaba's Story

By Freya Hoffman-Terry | Office Manager

Zeinaba, Mentor and Savings & Loans Member

“I’m an older woman. I have only one daughter. She had two children before marrying; after finally marrying another man, her new husband rejected her first two children since they were born out of wedlock. So now I take care of my two grandchildren for her. These children are too small to help me. I was living at the mercy of my own poverty and sometimes received help from do-gooders, giving me a little from time to time. Thanks to two loans this past year, I was able to practice some small business and also recently purchased a sheep with my second loan of the year. I will sell it for a profit after fattening it up.

Because of these Savings & Loans, we have created a sisterhood. We have sympathy for each other and assist each other. The experience has increased our social cohesion. We also help each other with marketing. When someone comes from a nearby area and asks for a water bucket, we will indicate who sells the water bucket. If someone asks who is selling an animal, one of the women in our group will point them in my direction and so on. I no longer feel as rejected as I did as I did, due my daughter’s problems. I have many friends that support and advise me now."

Zeinaba Samaghilla -Mentor and Savings & Loans Member

Your support gives Zeinaba (and many others) new skills, a sisterhood of support and a brighter future.

Thank you.

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Dec 6, 2018
Herding Creates Sustainable Change

By Jacob Dolan-Bath | Project and Communications Coordinator

In times past thousands of camel riding Tuareg would caravan across the Sahara Desert from osasis to osasis. They crossed these large expanses of sand and sun until coming to Libya, Mali or Algiria were they sold salt, for silks, spices and other valuables.These times are now all but done. Men are forced to go on "exod," - they go to other countries to search for work to send money back home. They sometimes won't come back for years.

The Tuareg are famously nomadic herders. Now however it is becoming increasingly difficult to even herd a small group of animals as the cost is so high to obtain them in the first place. The animal feed during the hungry season or the hot season sky rockets as people scramble to find food for their animals.

Rain for the Sahel and Sahara (RAIN) combats this by partnering with rural nomadic women and gives them a starting herd of goats. RAIN also provides vaccinations, feed, and training on husbandry so that the women have a leg up and can provide for their families. This also allows these women to bring cheese, milk, and meat to their families diet.

Herding goats in particular is useful as they cause less damage to the envirenment in Niger and are durable animals capable of surviving extreme conditions. RAIN also sells feed at cost that can make or break a rural family. Here is a story about a herder who's family was in peril so he came in search of RAIN. Meet Dambouki:

Dambouki lives his life in Niger as a herder in the Tuareg tradition. Each year, he, along with his wife and four children, follow pastures through the seasons for his camels, goats and sheep. It's not an easy life. In a good year, water is scarce and green pasture even scarcer. In a bad year, a herder such as Dambouki could lose everything. 2010 was one of those years. Intense drought caused scarce pasture to disappear completely. Feeding centers dotted throughout the desert may have had cottonseed for the animals - but sky high prices made it out of reach.

Dambouki: “RAIN saved the lives of my animals, and saved my family from great hardship. I’ve even decided to send my daughter to school, since I have such confidence in RAIN.”

A family's livestock represents all they have - their means of transport, livelihoods, and food. Dambouki watched his animals grow weaker daily, pushing his family closer to the brink. Then he heard about RAIN. He learned that an animal feed center in his region of Arlit was selling animal feed at cost, and in many cases, donating feed to nomadic herders.

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Sep 7, 2018
Herding in the Sahel

By Jacob Dolan-Bath | Project Leader

Assamhat with her mentee from Tillaberi.

The short answer is well, yes. Of course, it is far more complicated than that, so let's dive in, shall we? First things first, what is a mentor? A mentor is a person that guides you or supports you through a portion of your life or education. In Niger, the numbers of students that make it to middle school are shockingly low. Niger is rated last in the United Nations' Education Index which is determined by what the expected number of years of schooling should be and the actual number that citizens are attending. Girls on average only attend school for 3 years and boys 5 years.

So how do you flip the script and give these children a leg up in a struggling world? That is a big question...here is what our organization is doing. Rain for the Sahel and Sahara partners with local women to help primary school children understand the value of education and to encourage them to stay in school, all while, giving lessons in traditional crafts, and practical skills.

Children that have a mentor have shown to have a 5% higher retention rate at school than their non-mentored peers. Our partner mentors are dedicated to the cause. Assamhat, a mentor in the Tillaberi region, walked 10 miles in triple-digit temperatures when one of her students was absent from class. That is the kind of people our mentors are.

"RAIN's Mentoring Program permitted us to complete the entire academic program... When practically every school in the country was closed, we remained open.”

- Abdoul Aziz, Aouderas Middle School Math, and Physics-Chemistry teacher

Our mentors have become a force in the community, many regarded as "wise woman." They become advisers to village elders in regards to the school in the community. This respect allows them to talk with parents that would otherwise be against sending their children to school.

After all, it is hard to invest your child's time into education when the family may not have food that night. However, the support that mentors give is felt throughout the community and by the families of children mentees. Even those reluctant to send their children to school admit there is a positive change in the community.

The reason why the mentors are so impactful is that of the scope of their work and the dedication to the students, parents, and community. They care about their community and they want to prepare the next generation with the knowledge that can be used to better their lives.

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