Help 80 Secondary Pupils in Niger Read and Write

It’s summer holidays now for students of the Amadou Hampaté Bâ Middle School after a very successful academic year 2011-2012. Our association is proud to announce and share with you some of the exciting accomplishments that were made possible last year thanks to the help of your commitment and generosity. We would like to say thank you for your contributions and support.

• The students' final test scores soared from 56% to 73%! This is an amazing achievement and was largely due to the quality work of the teachers, whose level of teaching was strengthened thanks to more professional development workshops and seminars, teaching them new ways to inspire the students. The school had its most competent and motivated teaching staff yet thanks to this teacher training program, maximizing progress towards the students’ yearlong learning goals.
• We introduced extra reading and writing time, which helped students who were struggling with the basics. This really boosted their performance and gave them confidence to continue and not to drop out.
• One of our students reached the semi finals of the Spelling Bee Competition organized by the French Cultural Centre. This was a first!!!
• The school’s academic targets were achieved. Its performance was well above average and most classes scored at the top of the Dar-Es-Salam zone.
• The new climate of the school, which promotes gender equality and respect for everyone was felt throughout the system and in every classroom this year.
• The students participated in extracurricular activities such as interquiz competitions with neighboring schools, a district football tournament, and a school field trip to the French Cultural Centre. They were excited to discover these new activities.
  • Electricity was hooked up in the school. This paves the way for exciting new computer projects to come next year!
  • The cleanest class competition was introduced. The students were excited and it is the sixth graders who came in first!!
  • New parent interest has been seen as parents show a desire to be more involved in their children’s education. The parents of last year’s 6^th grade scholarship students made a special trip to the school to express their gratitude.

All in all we were able to offer new opportunities and make a huge difference in the lives of underprivileged students in Niger through the innovative approach and quality education being offered at Amadou Hampate Ba Middle School. More and more children are actually staying in school and benefitting from a quality education. Even so, the challenges to advance are still present. We remain confident that with your continued fidelity and generous support, we will meet those challenges, continue to advance, and contribute to the progress of a global community. Thank you.