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2020 Marks Pencils for Kids’ 15th year in Niger – a milestone.
This year has been one of the most challenging for the world in recent memory. The people of Niger have not only been impacted by the pandemic but by the worst flooding in over 100 years. Niger is considered to be one of the poorest countries in the world and this situation has been devastating for the people of Niger. While these events have hampered our short-term progress, they have not stopped us from moving forward on any of our long-term goals.
As Professor Dov Pasternak always said, “Never ever give up”!
The devastating floods caused the destruction of homes and rice fields across Niger.
Pencils for Kids along with our partner Eliminate Poverty Now delivered rice, soap and oil to many affected villages.
15 years of P4K!
We have accomplished so much with the help of our Team, our supporters and donors and the work on the ground by our partners in Niger.
Here are some of the highlights from these years.
- We remain a fully volunteer organization with overhead between 3- 5% and no paid staff.
- We have built three schools, a library, 14 kindergartens
- Given out over 500 scholarships for girls – 39 girls graduated from Secondary School and went on to University or post-graduate institutes
- Created a Sewing Centre for Girls – hundreds have enrolled in this three year program and learned an income-generating skill
- Income-generating gardens for women in Liboré and Balleyara training hundreds of women to grow fruits and vegetables for a profit, in partnership with Eliminate Poverty Now (EPN)
- Trained horticultural technicians who are now working with many rural women of Niger
Our most significant accomplishment – we started to change the mindset of so many in the country about the importance of educating girls and teaching women how to be agricultural entrepreneurs.
Our 2020 Success Stories
Farmers of the Future kicks off most ambitious program yet!
Construction begins on the Dov Centre - the new Training Centre for Horticultural Technicians - first of its kind in Niger, named in memory of Professor Dov Pasternak.
On November 24th, 2020, the Minister of Higher Education officially launched the Dov Centre building by placing a brick on the foundation.
In November 2020, we began construction of The Dov Centre, our Horticultural Training Centre for Technicians, named in memory of Professor Dov Pasternak and built in partnership with Eliminate Poverty Now (EPN).
When the Dov Centre opens its doors, we hope to train 40 technicians per year, in a two-year program affiliated with the Ministry of 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.
Scholarships for Girls congratulates six new graduates!
Six more girls in our Second Chance Scholarship program, graduated from Secondary School in August 2020 to bring the total to 39 who have gone on to university or post secondary institutions since our Scholarship program began in 2009!
Cooper Sewing Centre celebrates its 12th anniversary!
In 2020, the Sewing Centre was upgraded, a second floor washroom was added and the facilities improved with new paint and tiled floors.
As of October 2020, 19 new girls have been enrolled in first year, 13 girls are enrolled in their second year, and 19 girls are in the final year of their three-year program.
