Empower girls in Niger for change via education

Many of the girl students sponsored by our association are suffering from hard working conditions at home, obliging them to devote themselves to many chores for the family rather than being able to study. Another problem is the study space at home, which is often non existant, obliging many girls to study in the middle of a farmhouse courtyard outside. These conditions are obviously far from favorizing adequate academic study results and very unmotivating for girls who are trying to make a difference and use their potential to further their studies and receive diplomas. 

Hampaté Bâ School administrators and teachers meet with parents and send them report cards to advise them of their girls’ progress. But this is not enough ! In order to correct the girls’ poor study possibilities due to working conditions at home, our Association has advised teachers and administrators to consult with parents to develop an effective family-school partnership and find solutions to this dilemma. 

To walk the talk, the school recently organized a meeting between the  Home Economics teacher and mothers of our scholarship girls, the objective being to find ways to improve the girls’ home conditions.

The school administration carried out visits to some homes, and discovered that the girls were expected to do many chores and this distracted them greatly from doing their schoolwork. Indeed, by the time the girls finished some of the home chores, they were too tired to do their homework. Moreover, homes visited did not have enough space and the number of family members occupying the house made it impossible for the girls to work properly. Also, these homes were located in communities with no public libraries and so the girls were unable to do research required by their teachers.

Very few students working at home, establish regular and systematic study habits and these girls are the very ones who need such habits the most, commented the Home Economics teacher.

In view of all the drawbacks from working at home in very unfavorable conditions, we are very happy to announce that the school administration has decided to hold supervised study sessions in the school library and in the computer room after school hours starting next month. This is really breaking news and is sure to help the girls out and encourage them even more to advance in their studies and improve their results.

Thanks to this change, girls will be able to stay at school to do their homework, will feel safe and undisturbed, will have a supervisor who can help them out with problem areas, and will be able to concentrate on their studies. We are very thankful to the Hampaté Bâ School administration for accepting the girls to be in the school’s library and computer room to take full advantage of the resources necessary  to do research on various subjects.

Thank you for supporting our girl empowerment project !! These girls deserve the right to have an education and through your contributions, we will be able to offer them a convenient space conducive to their continued studies.