Empower girls in Niger for change via education

Dear Friends and Supporters!

October is back to school time in Niger and we are thrilled to share the latest news about the Hampate Ba scholarship girls. But we are even happier that our dream of keeping these girls in school throughout Middle and High School is actually happening.

The grand goal of offering them all an education that not only provides them with factual knowledge and technical skills to obtain diplomas, but also enables them to branch out, develop self-esteem, learn social skills, feel confident in being a woman able to access resources and opportunities, and pursue a career, is becoming a reality.

We are happy to report that our girl students are growing and developing beautifully. Some of them have just succeeded in graduating from high school with a Baccalaureate Diploma and have been admitted to top universities in Niamey with hopes of becoming lawyers, judges, and fiscal experts. Others have received their Brevet, BEPC at the end of Middle School and are proud to be able to continue high school studies or still others with the BEPC have decided to learn a trade and have chosen to attend vocational training centers, mainly to be nurses or health assistants. These girls are quite different than they were as young 6th graders when they first entered Hampate Ba Middle school years ago. They are like babies taking less wobbly and more assured steps. We are proud of their achievements and exhilirated to witness the impact of the actions we put in place for them in realms of art, technology, and home economics, in addition to academics.

Our charity is growing and gaining traction, but our support is still very much needed. In Niger, the rate of early marriage is 78%. Without our help, most of our girl students would NOT have been in secondary school. Not being able to afford their school fees, their parents would have probably married them off at 13 or 14 and they would be talking about their difficult pregnancies, their babies’ health problems, their lack of independence and their difficult economic situation.

Instead, here is what our high school graduates have to say about their new studies :

« Thank you so much for your support and understanding. This college is really the school for us. We have learned so many new things and that allows us to be aware. We learn about leadership, the spirit of ethics and what behavior to adopt to change things in our desire to positively change Niger, our country. Change starts with US, the young leaders. » Salifou, 19 yrs. Old

« It’s with great pleasure that I thank you for your help in financing my studies. I am truly grateful and at a loss for words. I could never thank you enough. The first day went well at my new college: there was a conference with all the professors and administration. I am so lucky to be in this university and it’s all thanks to the education I received at Hampate Ba School and the support of the generous donors. I am really so happy.You can count on me for good grades; that is the only thing I can offer you.» Hadiza, 18 yrs. old.

« I dont’ know how to thank you for this wonderful gift of an education that you have offered me. It is thanks to your constant support over the years that I am able to attend this university that gives me so many opportunities and each day I set foot in this university, I can’t stop thinking how grateful I am, but also imagining what my life would have been without your help Thank you again so much » Fatouma -19 yrs.

Our charity, les Amis de Hampate Ba, sincerely thanks you for your generosity because you, our donors, have been very active players by: sponsoring these girl students’ tuition fees so they could stay in secondary school and by funding tools & equipment . This will surely result in many positive outcomes, including later ages of marriage, lower fertility, and healthier and better educated children.

Thank you for your help, your support and your belief that these underprivileged girls can develop their talents. Please continue aiding us so we can keep these girls in school and ultimately guide them towards their career path.

We need your donations to make this difference in their lives. Thank you

Dear Friends,

A new intensive extracurricular Computer Training Course will open on September 3rd at Hampâté Bâ School and it’s especially for girls!

This creative initiative is being offered exceptionally for two weeks only in September just before the new school year starts by our Association “Les Amis de Hampaté Bâ”. The lucky Recipients are our Scholarship Girls in their last year of high school and those who just received their Baccalaureate Diploma.

Why did we decide to offer this new training course?

- First of all, to congratulate our scholarship girl students for their excellent results!
Their amazing success deserves to be recognized. Breaking news: 44% of our girl scholarship students who applied for the Baccalaureate Exam succeeded in obtaining their Baccalaureate diploma. This is a huge success compared to the national average in Niger, which was only 28% and especially since only 1/3 of the 28% were girls, which means only 9% of girls in Niger who registered for the examination, actually succeeded. And our girls were part of that 9%!
- Second of all, we wanted to advance and enhance the ICT skills of our girl students so they can be more efficient in their studies and up to date with the latest computer programs.
- Third of all, our aim is to continue promoting gender equality and giving these girls tools to improve their own lives. We thought this was a good idea for our girls to make them more competitive as they move towards superior studies and searching for a job. We hope to open career opportunities through ICT which will give them a better chance on the job market, more typically taken by men up until now.

What advantage to this new computer course? You have been supporting an ICT class in the school curriculum for our girls one hour a week in the computer lab we financed, which has helped them develop basic computer skills and understand how a computer functions, whereas this special course would be more intensive with 2-hour classes, every day during 2 weeks outside of the regular school curriculum. It would be a great follow-up to re-enforce current skills and would be one more step forward to learn new programs with individual attention to each student.

The students’ reactions to our risk-taking idea? Our daring bright idea for these courses at the end of summer vacation was indeed a risk. Would students actually want to give up their vacation days to come to the school’s computer lab, some of them having one hour to walk to get there? We asked the General Supervisor to check with each student beforehand. To our great surprise, the students were overjoyed.

Mr. Hassan, the school supervisor happily reported: ”All the girls I contacted said with no hesitation that they wanted to come to the class, even if they had to walk far. Each girl immediately accepted the proposition with enthusiasm”.
“ The summer is too long! I want to learn new skills and have more of a chance to excel next year “, remarked Karima, a “Terminal” Class student.
“ I have been trying to study at home, but with 7 younger brothers and sisters in one room, it is impossible. I am really eager for this computer class to start!” exclaimed Roumanatou who received her Bac end July. Mr. Namata, the computer teacher is also anxiously waiting for the class to start: “ I am looking forward with pleasure to this project which could be very useful, inspiring and important to these young ladies as future leaders.“

What type of content in this special course? Our dream is for our girls to become young leaders, ahead of other students in their ability to use computer programs: Excel to analyze data, PowerPoint to make compelling presentations, and Google tools to organize meetings and share documents. They can use their new access to conduct research and to apply for jobs by making a CV. We cannot wait to add this
technological class to their student experience!

They have succeeded so far due to your past support. Thanks to you, our girls were able to persevere, continue their education and obtain diplomas. In a short amount of time, you provided very impoverished girls with confidence, new skills, and ideas for future jobs. As a result of your generosity towards quality education and empowering our girls through ICT training, they will now be able to better connect with the world!

To everyone who has so kindly supported our Girl Empowerment Program, thank you so much! Your contributions have paid off in improving their lives. You can be proud!

We look forward to your continued support. We are presently raising funds to continue ICT classes and give more opportunities to a larger number of deserving girl students. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!