2022 — Pencils for Kids’ 17th year in Niger
2022 – Pencils for Kids’ 17th year in Niger, has been a year filled with both optimism and hope – as we get final approval from the Ministry of Higher Education to open the Dov Centre, A Training School for Horticultural Technicians, forge new bonds with international organizations, and rebuild our 7th and 8th kindergartens.
THE FUTURE
THE DOV CENTRE: OUR MOST AMBITIOUS PROGRAM YET!
As of December 2022, we have completed construction of the The Dov Centre our Horticultural Training Centre for Technicians, named in memory of Professor Dov Pasternak and built in partnership with a US NGO, Eliminate Poverty Now (EPN). When the Dov Centre hopefully opens its doors, in the Fall of 2023, we plan to train up to 40 technicians per year, in a two-year program affiliated with the Ministry of Higher Education. These graduates will then have the expertise to train rural women in Niger how to grow fruits and vegetables for a profit in desert conditions, how to market their produce and invest their earnings. It will be the culmination of Dov Pasternak’s dream and a way to help lift so many from poverty. The official name of the centre will now be: “Institut Agronomique Privé Pr Dov “.
During 2023 we will continue to build the curriculum, hire the Director and teaching staff, and start other training informally for those who have approached us, in advance of officially opening our doors in October 2023. We anticipate a year filled with promise, excitement and hope for new students and for the farmers we will train.
See our Named Gift Opportunities for the Dov Centre
DESPAIR HAS TURNED TO HOPE…
KINDERGARTEN REBUILDING CAMPAIGN:
On April 14th, 2021, 20 kindergarten children, ages 3-5 years old perished when their straw kindergarten burned down in Niamey, Niger. The entire country was plunged into mourning. As a result, we immediately decided to rebuild the 13 kindergartens we started in Liboré that were made of straw, so that nothing like this could happen to the children in our own sites. This campaign called Project Kindergarten has been hugely successful, due in large measure to the Travel Agent Next Door’s (TTAND) generosity. TTAND, along with its partners, the suppliers and agents, helped rebuild four of the eight kindergartens that are completed to date, with hundreds of children now having the opportunity to be in school. Many other private donors also stepped up to help us with the four other kindergartens.
Every Kindergarten that we launched has a plaque in memory of the children who died in the fire.
Kindergartens number 7 and 8 were built in Tonkobangou by TTAND and are set to open officially in early November 2022. See photo gallery here.
If you are interested in sponsoring a kindergarten, please contact us at info@pencilsforkids.com.
Scholarships for Girls
Three more girls in our Second Chance Scholarship program (from left to right: Rayanatou, Zouleykatou, and Sahadatou) graduated from Secondary School in August 2022 to bring the total to 44 who have gone on to university or post-secondary institutions since our Scholarship program began in 2009!
This special program has continued to give girls in their final year of Secondary (called the Terminale level) a “second chance” by opening a special classroom for them, hiring a teacher, and providing all the tutoring and class time needed to pass.
In addition, 10 girls who received scholarships at the Cinquieme level all passed their exams and moved on to the next level, Quatrieme.
We are also delighted that the collaboration between teachers in Canada and our teachers running the tutoring program in Liboré continued throughout this year!
Cooper Sewing Centre celebrates its 14th anniversary!
The Cooper Centre, founded by P4K with generous support from the Cooper family, is a sewing program in which girls pay their own tuition, and participate in examinations that are accredited by the National Sewing Association. The goal is to give girls and women, who are no longer in school, a second chance to get a profession. P4K started this program with only four girls in 2008, helping them acquire an income-generating skill. They are learning embroidery, sewing, knitting, and dyeing and also take courses in numeracy and literacy. Students pay a yearly fee to help cover the costs of the teachers.
361 girls have enrolled since our Sewing Centre began.
108 girls have graduated from the Centre since its inception.
This year 24 girls enrolled in our programs.
Some of them are working in their own company on the main road, some of them are working with other private companies and there are others who are working at home.
We also made renovations to the Cooper Centre this year and it is officially called the Cooper Centre of Training and Education:
We also named the new Library on the campus of the COOPER Education Centre in honour of DHL for supporting our work and efforts over 17 years, most recently by printing 1000 copies of Dov’s books in French, and then shipping them to Niger from the US. It is called Bibliotheque DHL!
CANADIAN BOOK COMPANY MAKES MASSIVE DONATION!
RK Publishing INC donated 10,000 French educational books to the children in NIGER! See photo gallery here.
During this past year, RK Publishing Inc.’s incredible donation has changed the lives of teachers and students in many communities in Niger. 10,000 French books were sent, teachers were trained, and students had the benefit of learning from and enjoying a wide variety of new topics. Simply incredible. A huge thank you to RK Publishing for this amazing donation and also to Lean Supply Solutions who generously packaged the donation of 10,000 books from RK Publishing Inc. and then donated school supplies as well!! SO kind, thoughtful and meaningful. See photo gallery here.
Thank you for supporting the work of Pencils for Kids and letting the families in Niger know that they are not forgotten.
Pencils for Kids continues to be a volunteer-run organization and we are proud of the programs and services that we are able to deliver to the children of Liboré. None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the unwavering support of our Pencils for Kids community. Your ongoing contribution to P4K has an impact every day on the life and the future of the children and women of Liboré. For these children and women, and for the whole community, your support is driving sustainable change that will deliver benefits right now and for future generations. For all these reasons we hope you will be able to maintain or even increase your financial support for P4K in 2022.
“Over 95% of your donation goes directly to sustaining highly effective education and training programs for the young people of Niger.”
