Empower girls in Niger for change via education

Hampaté Bâ Secondary School in Niamey, Niger closed its doors on March 20^th, just like every school in Niger at all levels. One day before, on March 19^th, the first case of Covid 19 was detected in Niger. The girl students at Hampaté Bâ Middle School had just finished their 1st semester Art projects and the girls at Hampaté Bâ High School were starting their first exams of the 2^nd semester, which suddenly came to a halt. 

Here is a time-line of the Covid19’s impact in Niger and how it affected our girl students.

CONSEQUENCES OF COVID DURING LOCK-DOWN

March 19th : first case of Covid 19 declared

March 20th : schools close / government testing begins rapidly / lockdown begins 

March 20th-June 1st 

Niger: Curfew enforced from 7 pm- 5 am/ borders closed/ transit limited/  airport closed / city of Niamey closed to other cities in Niger / people encouraged to stay at home / social distancing put in place, but difficult in Niger

Our students : no school classes/  / no tutoring /students encouraged to practice safe hygiene / on-line classes available for university students only

Our action :We Checked up regularly on our girls for thier health/ food aid /families / compensated for lack of food/ helped pay mobile phone tarifs for remote learning

Difficulties : Hottest period of the year/ social distancing difficult with customs to eat together in families out of same plates and same cups

June 1st- Back to school (with masks, gel, soap, hygiene training) No more lockdown and back to normal activities except for airports which are still closed.

June 1st - July 15th : Objective to finish last 50% of school program in 1 1/2 months 

For Exam classes : After-school supplementary classes imposed by government:  45 days to finish program

Our Action : Extra tutoring to help students understand basics and encourage them  to succeed

August 8th : BEPC exam

August 17th : BAC exam

September 1st :  medical internships to validate school year

IMPACT AND COPING

As of June 4^th, Niger has had 963 cases of coronavirus since its first case 2 ½ months ago and 65 deaths, which is much less than what was expected. The government took swift action to close borders, limit transit, close schools, and encourage people to remain at home and practice safe hygiene plus curfews at 19h. None of this was easy. Unfortunately with borders closed and transportation limited, supplies fell short and prices rose. We chose to help our girls with food aid during this period where their families could not pay the rising prices.

Indeed, our girl students have been very resilient and have shown determination to persevere in spite of their low-income backgrounds and difficult conditions. The impact on their education has been virtually catastrophic. For underprivileged students in Niger, one of the 5 poorest countries in the world, remote learning was a challenge, since most of them live without electricity and of course, without computers. We were able to offer some of our Hampaté Bâ graduates in high education institutes, power banks to charge with their mobile phones to have enough power to download some programs and continue their studies. The good news is that all of our girls are in good health and their parents also. Two of our students got malaria quite seriously, but we helped them with health costs and this was cured over a week’s time. 

CHALLENGE MET 

Our challenge over the years has been to get more girls into and through secondary education. We have given scholarships to help girls stay in school. We have offered them skills in critical thinking and decision making through Empowerment Projects. We have made them aware of ethics and human values, and all of these values are becoming apparent in our girls. We can see it in the way they are able to face difficulties and bounce back.

We are happy and proud to have armed them with knowledge about benefits such as later marriage, better sanitary conditions, improved child care. We have strengthened their confidence to improve their families’ well-being and fight gender bias.  Also, providing Empowerment Projects such as a Media Room and Gender Club, we have been able to promote gender equality through the arts and ICT,

Covid 19 gave our girl students the opportunity to use the knowledge they have acquired through our projects concerning hygiene and sanitary actions. They were also able to use their ICT knowledge to follow courses using technical means during the lockdown. These are skills that they will be able to continue using. Additionally they were able to use their artistic qualities to fabricate cloth masks and to sell them and therefore help protect their friends and families from spreading the contagion.

YOUR DONATIONS COUNT 

Your donations help us keep these girls in school. Being able to attend our specialized gender equality programs have made them become proud women, capable of facing the challenges of our times. We are grateful for your funding of scholarships enabling them to continue their schooling and reach their potential. You are making a difference in their lives and giving them a chance for a better future!  Your generosity counts !   Thank you for offering them the gift of an education !

Niger is a tough place for children to grow up, but it’s particularly challenging for girls, thousands of whom have seen their childhoods cut short by marriage – Niger has the highest rate of child marriage in the world : 76% before 18 years old.

One way to avoid early marriages is to help girls go to school and stay in school. Our organisation is constantly creating exciting opportunities for our young girl students at Hampaté Bâ School in Niamey, Niger. In addition to funding scholarships for academic studies , we also provide them with programs to learn and develop skills, therefore allowing them to prepare and succeed in future careers and meaningfully contribute to challenges across Africa.

We are very proud to share with you our latest girl empowerment projects , presenting innovative solutions and inspiring success stories ! 

TRAINING GIRLS IN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

This project rocks!  It’s a two-fold ongoing project that has developed in stages over 10 years, aimed at improving the quality of education while also bridging the technology gap.

1. Promoting Numeracy and Literacy Skills through Digital Education

We implemented this after school project mainly for 6th graders entering middle school, enabling the students to further improve their basic numeracy and literacy competencies through interactive and fun material. It is very popular and has a high attendance rate, demonstrating student interest and engagement !

 "I never miss my after school computer classes on Tuesday afternoons. I quickly learned how to conjugate verbs. I now know how to conjugate the verb “to achieve” in the past, present and future times. Why the verb "to achieve"? Because I will be the one who will "achieve" and go to university," proudly says Haoua ,12 years old  

« Nassia’s progress is amazing. When she came in, her French was quite limited and within a few months she has managed to not only learn to communicate fluently but also excel in her class” the French teacher remarks. 

Mr. Kabirou, the computer teacher, has remarked : "With computers, the girls are much more engaged and motivated. Their performance has clearly improved. It is a playful approach and has brought a lot of change. It has even improved their communication and teamwork skills."

1. Computer Classes in Daily Curriculum : Teaching Students to become familiar with Essential Digital Tools and Basic Software Programs 

• Middle School : The younger students start by learning basic computer skills and how to use simple programs, like word processing.
• High School :  More Advanced classes learning to use a Spread Sheet like Excel, Tools for Presentations like Power Point,  and guide students towards finding information through internet. 
• Future projects currently in pilot stages : Classes to learn coding

With these skills, the girls can participate in day-to-day life and be integrated in the development and modernisation of Niger. The computer classes during and after school have definitely increased students’ passion for learning digital know-how. 

During our last trip to Niger,  as soon as we entered the computer classroom, we immediately felt the energy of the students. We are so exhilarated to see that our initiatives to explore new solutions through innovative projects have the potential of improving learning outcomes and positively impact even the most marginalized students. 

Our aim is to help girls for future jobs by teaching them digital technology in hopes of overcoming the many barriers for women’s access and use of technology in Niger. Despite the challenges, we continue our efforts because of the incredible opportunity that technology provides for girls. So far, the girls’ accomplishments are impressive and in view of their underprivileged background and the context of Niger, even astounding.

OFFERING  GIRLS  WORK EXPERIENCE IN TECHNICAL FIELDS 

During vacation time an amazing project popped up, offering a great opportunity to girl students at Hampaté Bâ High School .The project gave quite unexpected, yet positive results

Renovation and construction work was being done near the school and the contractors agreed to use the project to provide on-site training and employment opportunities for girl students at Hampaté Bâ High School. They would include at least 15% of girl students in the team. The internship was organized to last one month and the girls would be trained to actually help with specific tasks during the different stages of the construction.

To our surprise, 20 girls eagerly volunteered to follow this internship and were happy to actively participate. They were very inspired by what they learned and proud to receive diplomas at the end of the training. The contractors were amazed by the girls’ strong motivations: some of them wanted to become architects, some wanted to be painters, and some engineers. The training sparked an interest in each one. «  It was so important for me to have more notions about construction work. It gave me all kinds of ideas for my future « remarked Atika. «  It’s a great opportunity for me . Now I can imagine myself as a future architect. And when I see a house outside, I know how it was built ! » Exclaimed Aicha.

We wanted to awaken some of the girls to technical skills, to give them a taste for possible technical and scientific studies, to motivate them through a work experience in technical fields to consider careers such as engineering and architecture or project management. Opportunities like this give girls a chance to develop competencies and envisage ways to change their reality. We hope this will empower girls to lead independent lives

And why not? After all, half of the population in Africa in feminine. Including women in the work force is essential.

Despite the prevailing stereotypes and the social pressure, we are trying to give our girl students opportunities to breakdown barriers every day that prevent girls from accessing and benefiting from technology.  Whatever their level, the goal is for them to acquire knowledge and experience to be able have an activity leading to a decent salary and a career.

Helping today’s talented young girls will benefit tomorrow’s society. Thank you all for your vital support of these amazing and courageous young  underprivileged girls who will hopefully leave a remarkable and uplifting  imprint on their community, on Africa and on the world.