Thank you for your tremendous support over the course of the past year enabling us to continue our programs in Liboré.

We are delighted that Katarina chose to highlight our work on Project for Awesome 2013. (Project for Awesome is held annually on Dec 17-18 , where thousands of people post videos advocating for charities) See Katarina’s video talking about us here:

We look forward to expanding our Farmers of the Future program, graduating more girls in the scholarship program and constructing a new sewing centre in 2014.

Happy New Year!

Seven girls graduated from Secondary School in July, passing both their Terminale Level and their tremendously challenging National BAC exams.  All of them were P4K Scholarship recipients and all are now enrolled in the University of Niamey, two in Medicine.  We are incredibly proud of their accomplishments. From a very generous grant to Pencils for Kids,  laptops were presented to each girl, by seven high ranking female officials in the government, business or Foreign service. This will be their first ever laptops –  and having them will make their work in University so much easier.  It was a tremendously moving ceremony in front of all the students and dignitaries at Amadou Madougou Secondary School.  For the first time in the community of Libore, girls can see that it is possible to succeed in school and go on to University with steady work and dedication.  They now have role models showing them the way.  Our scholarship program began in 2009 with just four girls in Secondary school — and today hundreds have been recipients of these P4K scholarships.  Congrats to all the graduates!!

Carl Vahl is relentless in his desire to bring water to each and every village in Libore and all the schools. For the past five years, Carl, a Rotarian from the Olean Rotary Club, and many other Rotarians from other clubs, have come to Libore to drill wells. There are over 50 of them now that provide clean drinking water to the villagers so that they won’t have to walk long distances to find it.  Gaston Kaba, a Rotarian from Niger, helps Carl’s team on the ground.  All of this began when Carl called me up seven years ago and said he was going to Niger and heard about the work we were doing at Pencils for Kids.  Was there anything I needed him to do?
“Yes”, I replied, excitedly. Please visit the community of Libore when you are there just to say hello.  And so he did, and met Hamani, and since that time has been instrumental in making a difference to the 30,000 people in Libore.  We are so grateful to Carl and to Rotary for continuing the push to bring water to everyone, and for always educating the people to ensure the wells are properly maintained and working. Bravo Carl, Gaston and Rotarians everywhere!

In the second full year of our pilot program in three villages, we made a change.  We put all the vegetable gardens and tree nurseries in the hands of mothers, who would manage them full time, year-round. They would sell what they planted and earn a profit.  They would pay back expenses after a period of time.  They would become true entrepreneurs.  The children would learn about agriculture as a business from being involved with their mothers, and helping during the school hours, but the schools themselves and the technicians would no longer bear responsibility for these nurseries and gardens. It was an excellent move.  The teachers continue to teach theory in the classroom and this is complemented by hands on teaching in the gardens by the women.  We are seeing results!
Onions-and-Moringa-at-Gonzare.

Women at Gueriguinde are VERY HAPPY with the new arrangement!!