By Amber Persson Imagine that a mother of five in rural Niger suddenly develops a fever, headache, and nausea; the diagnosis—malaria. She must receive treatment as soon as possible before the swift-acting disease develops further. Unfortunately, her community is largely inaccessible by road, and there are no hospitals in the vicinity. It could take several… Read more »
Secretary Blinken Makes Historic Visit to Niger
By Will Beeker Source: Secretary of State meets Nigerien authorities In March, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a historic visit to Niger during which he praised the country for upholding democracy as neighboring countries have fallen prey to coups and political upheaval. This is the first time in history that a U.S…. Read more »
7 Gallon Challenge
What: For one day, attempt to limit water usage to seven gallons of water a day, which is a high estimate of how much the average rural Nigerien uses in a day. For every gallon over seven that you use, donate $1 to Wells Bring Hope. Film yourself sharing the results of the challenge. At… Read more »
The Languages of Niger: Hausa
By Megan Campbell Niger is linguistically diverse, with over twenty languages spoken in everyday life! French is used for professional communication and official proceedings. Indigenous languages are a way for members of a specific ethnic group to converse, but they are rarely spoken outside that population. Hausa, however, is an exception to that rule. Hausa… Read more »
Empowered Women, Empowered Niger
By Kayleigh Redmond Research has shown that investing in the economic and educational success of women is vital to the development of any nation. Women typically funnel a larger percentage of their income back into their communities than men and obstructing their potential contributions only delays financial growth. Educating and empowering women in Niger can… Read more »
Empowering Women and Girls in the Fight Against HIV
By Amber Nicolai Source: NigerTZai, Wikimedia Commons As the global HIV epidemic rages on, young women and adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa are disproportionately affected. Although women between the ages of 15 and 24 only make up 10% of the region’s population, they account for one in five new HIV cases. Gender disparity plays such… Read more »
A School for “Model Husbands” to Promote Maternal Health
(Excerpted from Le Monde, March 22, 2021, and edited for this format) In Niger, where the fertility rate is seven children per woman, men are called upon to change attitudes. At the end of February, about ten men sat cross-legged on a mat shaded by the foliage of a neem tree. These “model husbands,” were… Read more »
Education in Niger: The Impact of COVID-19
By Lara Khosrovian As a current student within the United States education system, I felt overwhelmingly hopeless when classes were converted to an entirely remote curriculum due to the global pandemic. I felt as though my learning and overall experiences were compromised. However, my resources were never eliminated, support systems were always accessible, and my… Read more »
Fadji Maina: A Nigerien NASA Scientist Fighting Water Scarcity
By: Omair Ali Source: Awojdyla Dr. Fadji Maina (left) with Dr. Eva Nogales (right) at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 2019. Growing up with water scarcity inspired Fadji Zaouna Maina, Ph.D., to undertake the extraordinary journey from Nigerien schoolgirl to NASA earth scientist. Maina was born and raised in Zinder, one of the largest… Read more »
Women in Niger Empowered to Initiate Divorce
by Barbara Goldberg Source: willemstom In January of 2019, NPR’s Rachel Martin interviewed Dionne Searcey, West Africa bureau chief for The New York Times, about a startling change in the social fabric of Niger: women now feel empowered to initiate a divorce. Prior to having safe water well in their rural village, Nigerien women walked… Read more »
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