Robin receives the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal
Robin, her daughter Sam, and husband Ed at Rideau Hall on December 7th, 2023 as Robin receives the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal for her work in Niger.
Robin, her daughter Sam, and husband Ed at Rideau Hall on December 7th, 2023 as Robin receives the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal for her work in Niger.
On July 26, 2023, the military took over the government of Niger. Niger had been widely viewed as the last bastion of democracy in the West African Sahel, so the military takeover caught many by surprise, including us. It is still early to know what the long-term impacts of the coup will be, but it does create a more uncertain future.
This is hardly our first experience with political upheaval and uncertainty. On one of our earlier trips to Niger, there was a military coup only days after we left, in 2010. Democratic elections were restored a year later. We do not know what will happen with governance for the foreseeable future, but we do know that our team in Niger continues to work and we hope to fulfill our promise to open the Dov Institute, the first ever Horticultural Training School for technicians in the country. We stayed the course in 2010, and we will stay the course now.
Members of LIBO, the NGO managing P4K projects in Niger, gather on the Dov Institute campus. They are committed to launch technician training in 2024.
We’re excited by the Dov Institute. It’s innovative – the first in Niger to feature horticulture and the income-generating power of agriculture. Everything about it will be first class –from its facilities to its faculty, students, and programs. And we’re well on our way.
The campus is a showcase, our emphasis on experiential learning and practical skills is attracting great attention, and our knowledge and results are starting to turn heads.
In the past year we’ve been sought out by Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Blair Institute, USAID and the US Embassy. We were disappointed to push back the launch of technician training another year.
We fully intend to launch technician training next October despite the challenges the coup may pose. As Professor Dov always said, “Never Give Up”!
Please visit our Flickr page to see more photos of the Dov Centre!
We continue our Scholarship for Girls program, the first ever program we started almost 18 years ago. Hundreds of girls have received scholarships for one or more years during this time and 50 have graduated and gone on to post-graduate studies and are now working in their respective professions.
Three years ago, we decided to tutor the same ten girls from junior high through the end of secondary school and follow their progress. The 10 girls we have now sponsored for these past three years, all started their Troisieme level in the 2023-2024 school year, having passed their exams in July and graduated from the Quatrieme level. We will keep everyone posted on their progress!
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.
405 girls have enrolled since the Cooper Centre opened.
116 girls have graduated from the Centre since its inception.
Eight of these girls graduated in 2023 and they are now accomplished tailors!
2023 Sewing Program Graduates!
This year 43 girls enrolled in our first-year program and 12 have entered their second year.
First Year sewing girls
Second Year sewing girls
We have seen an exponential rise in enrolment this year for a variety of reasons. Prices have dramatically risen after the coup, and parents who can no longer send their daughters to private schools for secondary education, have chosen to give them a specialized skill. In addition, our program offers a Certificate when they graduate, which is recognized in the country, and our Cooper Centre has a reputation for excellence in Niger.
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.
In particular after the military coup this year, the population of Niger faces a more uncertain future, with rising prices and even more poverty. For all these reasons we hope you will be able to maintain or even increase your financial support for P4K.
“Over 95% of your donation goes directly to sustaining highly effective education and training programs for the young people of Niger.”
On my 9th trip to Niger, on Tuesday, December 13th, 2022, we officially opened the Dov Institute, our new Training Centre for Horticultural Technicians along with our partner, John Craig, from Eliminate Poverty Now. The Minister of Higher Education, Minister Djibo, officially opened the Institute, cut the ribbon, and gave his approval to open our doors for students, which we will do hopefully in the Fall of 2023. Accompanying the Minster were the Minister of Agriculture and the former Prime Minister Danda. Many of our long-time supporters from Niger were present as well. It was a momentous occasion, the realization of Professor Dov’s dream to help producers achieve agricultural prosperity. It will be a two-year BTS degree, the first of its kind in horticulture in the country. Once trained and graduated, these students will have the ability to teach rural producers how to earn income from horticulture, and also potentially start their own entrepreneurial enterprises in agriculture.
John spoke on our behalf with the following words:
“On behalf of Robin Mednick, president of ONG Pencils for Kids and myself at Eliminate Poverty NOW, thank you for being here.
Everything that Hamani just described comes from the vision of one extraordinary man – Professor Dov Pasternak. Dov was unique. He was a world-class agricultural scientist with a great mind for business, a flair for marketing, and a huge humanitarian heart. In the last 20 years of his life, Dov fell in love with the country of Niger – and most especially with its people.
Dov had a dream. He believed with all his heart that agriculture could be a source of major economic growth in Niger, even with all its environmental challenges. And as a leader in Israel’s miracle of making the desert bloom, Dov knew what he was talking about. He knew that agriculture could become the path out of poverty for millions of Nigeriennes.
Dov was inspirational, and his passion inspired all of us who had the privilege to work with him and are now creating the Dov Institute. One of his favorite sayings was to “Never, ever give up!” Our promise to Dov, to all of you here, and to the people of Niger is that we will never, ever give up until we make his dream a reality.
Thank you.”
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
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…
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.”