Empower girls in Niger for change via education

Hampaté Bâ Secondary School in Niamey, Niger closed its doors on March 20^th, just like every school in Niger at all levels. One day before, on March 19^th, the first case of Covid 19 was detected in Niger. The girl students at Hampaté Bâ Middle School had just finished their 1st semester Art projects and the girls at Hampaté Bâ High School were starting their first exams of the 2^nd semester, which suddenly came to a halt. 

Here is a time-line of the Covid19’s impact in Niger and how it affected our girl students.

CONSEQUENCES OF COVID DURING LOCK-DOWN

March 19th : first case of Covid 19 declared

March 20th : schools close / government testing begins rapidly / lockdown begins 

March 20th-June 1st 

Niger: Curfew enforced from 7 pm- 5 am/ borders closed/ transit limited/  airport closed / city of Niamey closed to other cities in Niger / people encouraged to stay at home / social distancing put in place, but difficult in Niger

Our students : no school classes/  / no tutoring /students encouraged to practice safe hygiene / on-line classes available for university students only

Our action :We Checked up regularly on our girls for thier health/ food aid /families / compensated for lack of food/ helped pay mobile phone tarifs for remote learning

Difficulties : Hottest period of the year/ social distancing difficult with customs to eat together in families out of same plates and same cups

June 1st- Back to school (with masks, gel, soap, hygiene training) No more lockdown and back to normal activities except for airports which are still closed.

June 1st - July 15th : Objective to finish last 50% of school program in 1 1/2 months 

For Exam classes : After-school supplementary classes imposed by government:  45 days to finish program

Our Action : Extra tutoring to help students understand basics and encourage them  to succeed

August 8th : BEPC exam

August 17th : BAC exam

September 1st :  medical internships to validate school year

IMPACT AND COPING

As of June 4^th, Niger has had 963 cases of coronavirus since its first case 2 ½ months ago and 65 deaths, which is much less than what was expected. The government took swift action to close borders, limit transit, close schools, and encourage people to remain at home and practice safe hygiene plus curfews at 19h. None of this was easy. Unfortunately with borders closed and transportation limited, supplies fell short and prices rose. We chose to help our girls with food aid during this period where their families could not pay the rising prices.

Indeed, our girl students have been very resilient and have shown determination to persevere in spite of their low-income backgrounds and difficult conditions. The impact on their education has been virtually catastrophic. For underprivileged students in Niger, one of the 5 poorest countries in the world, remote learning was a challenge, since most of them live without electricity and of course, without computers. We were able to offer some of our Hampaté Bâ graduates in high education institutes, power banks to charge with their mobile phones to have enough power to download some programs and continue their studies. The good news is that all of our girls are in good health and their parents also. Two of our students got malaria quite seriously, but we helped them with health costs and this was cured over a week’s time. 

CHALLENGE MET 

Our challenge over the years has been to get more girls into and through secondary education. We have given scholarships to help girls stay in school. We have offered them skills in critical thinking and decision making through Empowerment Projects. We have made them aware of ethics and human values, and all of these values are becoming apparent in our girls. We can see it in the way they are able to face difficulties and bounce back.

We are happy and proud to have armed them with knowledge about benefits such as later marriage, better sanitary conditions, improved child care. We have strengthened their confidence to improve their families’ well-being and fight gender bias.  Also, providing Empowerment Projects such as a Media Room and Gender Club, we have been able to promote gender equality through the arts and ICT,

Covid 19 gave our girl students the opportunity to use the knowledge they have acquired through our projects concerning hygiene and sanitary actions. They were also able to use their ICT knowledge to follow courses using technical means during the lockdown. These are skills that they will be able to continue using. Additionally they were able to use their artistic qualities to fabricate cloth masks and to sell them and therefore help protect their friends and families from spreading the contagion.

YOUR DONATIONS COUNT 

Your donations help us keep these girls in school. Being able to attend our specialized gender equality programs have made them become proud women, capable of facing the challenges of our times. We are grateful for your funding of scholarships enabling them to continue their schooling and reach their potential. You are making a difference in their lives and giving them a chance for a better future!  Your generosity counts !   Thank you for offering them the gift of an education !