Help 80 Secondary Pupils in Niger Read and Write

Many of the 6^th graders who come to Hampaté Bâ from public primary schools are reading on the 1st grade level and struggling with even the most basic math concepts. Students who are struggling to keep up in school can easily become discouraged. By the time they reach 9^th grade, they are at risk of dropping out.

The Read and Write program jump-starts underperforming students into learning necessary concepts and vocabulary before their classmates even begin the new lesson. Rather than being stuck in the remedial slow lane, students move ahead of everyone into the fast lane of learning. Read and Write provides a fresh academic start for students every week and creates opportunities for struggling students to learn alongside their more successful peers.

“I did not know that sentences begin with a capital letter and that one must add an ‘S’ to make things plural. Now, I do!”says Boubakar, an outgoing 6^th grader.

“When you see some of our teachers at the front of the classroom doing an entire circus act as they explain how to add an ’s’ to make things plural to a group of adult-sized students, please don’t judge. We are doing our best to bring students who are woefully behind up to grade level”, explains Mr Barro, the principal. 

Read and Write classes increase student confidence and participation. This is because prior knowledge and new vocabulary are placed directly in students' paths just in time for new learning in their main classrooms. Students' newfound knowledge increases the odds that they will know the correct responses to questions. They now feel safe to raise their hands and their fear of embarrassment diminishes.

“I can now answer certain questions and I’m less scared of making mistakes”, says 12 year old Moussa.

“This is not traditional tutoring. Our mission is to get struggling students ahead of the game. We accelerate them in their trouble courses of Math and French by teaching them concepts and vocabulary directly linked to the lesson to come. This enables them to understand new content much better,” adds Mr Barro.

Help us move struggling students in the right path.

All donations, big and small, are welcome ! We thank you so much for your constant support which is greatly needed and appreciated !

Together, we can help these students out by bringing them up to level and ultimately providing them a better future.

Thank you so much for provoking those smiles!

This last school year proved to be a great struggle for all of our scholarship students at Hampaté School because of constant strikes in Niamey which prevented the students very often from attending classes. This made it extremely difficult for all of them to follow the program, but it was especially hard on our 9th graders, who had a very weak level and who needed to be up to par, as candidates getting ready to sit for the national 9th grade examinations at the end of the year. Succeeding these exams is critical for a student’s future in Niger, as the BEPC certificate could be vital in helping them get a job or also in giving them the right to continue on to high school.

This dire situation called for emergency measures and our Association wanted to meet the challenge by taking immediate action.

However, in spite of our enthusiasm and determination, this was not an easy task. It is incredible how students struggle with learning subjects if they are not proficient with reading.  It hinders them from studying, has a direct influence on their writing ability and they have a hard time comprehending anything. When a student falls behind, it becomes almost impossible for him or her to catch up. We therefore decided to help our 15 x 9th graders catch up by setting up a special after school remedial program for them with French and Math lessons totaling 2 hours a day, every day of the week in small groups so they could each get the individual attention they needed.

Thestudents’ learning levels were assessed at the beginning of the program and then the teachers calibrated their teaching accordingly, even if that meant going all the way back to the level where the students started to struggle. This meant that even though these students were 9th graders, the remedial facilitator went back and did Grade 1and 2 work again!

“The idea was simple: we abandoned the official curriculum for several hours a week to concentrate on the basics.” explained one of the teachers.

The classes coincided with the fasting period in the country and so conditions were really tough both for students and their teachers, but they both stuck it out. Some of these students live more than an hour away and made the trip by foot in 45 °C (113 °F) degree weather.

"It is hot and I live far, but I come to the remedial classes because I want to obtain my 9th grade certificate in order to go to high school. I feel well supported and I'm learning. I am grateful to the Association and the teachers who offer me the possibility of growing every day and I take advantage of it." says Ibrahim, one of the students attending the remedial classes.

Because of the small groups, the teachers could get their ideas across easier and they were able to stimulate the students. The teachers did their utmost to motivate the students. As for the students, they felt more comfortable in learning, gained confidence in themselves, started really understanding more of the basics, and actually enjoyed going to the sessions. The students, little by little made progress, The teachers were able to explain individually to those in difficulty and painstakingly employed much patience, which happily resulted in evident progress in the students’ results. Stimulation was in the air. And there was hope!

In a short period of 3 months, 3/4 of the students attending the program transformed from academically-insecure students to reading-confident individuals. Whereas they avoided studying for the past 3 years, they were now happy to work hard and to do so willingly!

"Their transformation is not only displayed in their reading ability, but physically and emotionally, too. These students now stand tall and are proud of their achievements. I credit the remedial program for this." says a very convinced principal, Mr Barro.

Here is the good news! Where there is a will, there is a way!

The hard work that the teachers and students put into this program paid off.

75% of our students succeeded at getting their 9th grade certificate in July 2017!!

Both students and teachers were rewarded ….such an accomplishment for all concerned, as well as for the Hampaté Bâ School.

It is widely recognized that one of the preconditions of a country’s successful development is to have educated citizens. In Niger, educational attainment levels are quite low and even when children are attending schools, little is learned.

Happily we were able to overcome these hurdles through the remediation programs and private tutoring. We could not have done this without your generosity and we are very touched by your gestures. The students could not have succeeded without having been supported by you.

11 Students will be entering high school next year thanks to your donations! We need to continue our efforts and donations this year to keep improving the level of these underprivileged students through the remediation programs.

All donations, big and small, are welcome and are making a huge difference in our students’ lives! THANK YOU.