By Elsa Sichrovsky In the 1980s, a teenaged teacher would often entertain locals in the town of Tesker, Niger by playing the ngurumi, a traditional instrument with a calabash shell body and iguana skin head[1] that is often used by the Toubou people of northern Niger. The Toubou schoolteacher went on to become headmaster of a… Read more »
So tell me again, why have we been panic buying toilet paper?
By Nick Baldry When it became apparent that the coronavirus had not only reached the shores of the United States, but was taking hold to such an extent that we needed to shut down society as we know it, there was one fairly universal reaction. Panic. That panic manifested itself in a number of ways…. Read more »
Million more trees in Niger – An Australian farmer project that is silently changing the world
by Raphaela Barros Prado Many nonprofit organizations in Niger were created to help communities with the issues they face everyday such as water scarcity, poverty, unemployment, violence, etc. One of the organizations started with the idea of improving. the environment by creating more green space in Niger’s desert landscape. Tony Rinaudo is an Australian farmer… Read more »
Niger : Work in Progress
By Talei Caucau Niger is the poorest country in the world. The country has a high fertility rate and low literacy rate. Before I conducted my own research for this article, everything I knew about Niger was negative. Magazines like National Geographic provided insight into the chaos that surrounds Niger. That is literally the title… Read more »
Malama Ouani: Empowering with Education
By Elsa Sichrovsky In my comfortable first-world life, information is just a swipe away. Whenever I want to know something, I just pull out my smartphone and start typing a question into Google. Immediately, a plethora of helpful information fills the screen. If I need counseling, support, or treatment, the internet makes endless resources available… Read more »
Water is the First Step
By Caroline Moss Millions of people live in poverty due to the lack of available water resources. In developing nations, the task of retrieving water often falls to women and young girls. In rural Sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls may spend upwards of 3 hours per day, retrieving water that is contaminated and unsafe to… Read more »
Review of Niger’s Progress Toward the Sustainable Development Goals
by Michelle Nelson von Euw As the five-year anniversary of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda approaches, many nations are beginning to assess whether and how they are achieving these targets and indicators set by the United Nations. To summarize, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a collection of 17 international development objectives set by… Read more »
Littattafan Soyayya: The Love Stories Hausa Women are Telling
By Elsa Sichrovsky Almost half of Niger’s population belongs to the Hausa ethnic group, so Hausa language and culture are essential to Niger’s ethnic melting pot. In recent years, a new and exciting genre of Hausa literature has been changing the lives of women in Niger and northern Nigeria. This new literary movement originated in Kano,… Read more »
International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028
by Michelle Nelson von Euw “Access to water and sanitation is a precondition to life and a declared human right.” – United Nations As evidenced by the frequency with which it appears in the Sustainable Development Goals, access to clean, well-managed water, for both consumption and sanitation, is vital for human development. Any level of… Read more »
Bridging the Gap: Empowerment and Education in Niger’s “Husband Schools”
by Hannah Lichtenstein An interesting tension exists in the socio-cultural plane in Niger as it does in many West African countries. Nigerien men generally operate outside of the household as the “breadwinners,” making a living toiling in economic spheres such as agriculture or mining. Women, on the other hand, are the nurturing caretakers, responsible for… Read more »