100 Scholarships for Girls in Niger!

She comes from a nomadic tribe of pastoralists with a subsistence lifestyle. As a young child, Saratou’s dream was to be able to go to school and her father agreed to let her go. She finished primary school and then wanted to continue to middle school, but there were no middle schools near either the summer or winter migratory stops. Her family was told of a school, not too far from their winter settlement, a school at which she could live and attend one of the local middle schools. Saratou prayed that she would be able to go. It wasn’t a question of whether or not her parents would let her go – at the age of 12 – to boarding school, but rather a question of how on earth would they be able to pay for the cost of room, board, and school? One day, the Director of the school visited Saratou’s settlement and talked with her father. The Director told Saratou’s father about an organization that helped girls who had successfully completed primary school to stay in school. For the first time, Saratou heard the words “Remember Niger” in English. The next time that the Director visited, he said that the organization would make sure that 10 girls from the area would be able to go to school and he asked Saratou’s father if he would be willing to have Saratou move to town to attend school.

A few months later, in October, Saratou made the trek to town, excited and scared. She arrived at the school that would be her home for the coming 9 months and was thankful to see a familiar face. The Director greeted her warmly and showed her to the dorm. Saratou had slept her entire life in the tent with her family, or out under the stars. Now, her bed would not be a mat on the ground, but a metal bunk bed. For the first time in her life, she would sleep inside 4 walls on a bed – with strangers. And, after that, she would go the next day to register for school – new bed, new town, new school. As she drifted off to sleep, she thought of those words spoken in English, “Remember Niger” and the “Programme d'autonomisation des filles” (Girls’ Advancement program) into which she had been accepted.

It has been 2 months since Saratou moved into the dorm and started middle school and, although she misses her family and nomadic life, she is thriving and doing well in her studies.

Thanks to your generosity in supporting our Girls’ Advancement programming, Saratou and other girls like her, who live in places where there are no secondary schools, can continue their education. Although most of the girls in the Girls’ Advancement program are able to continue living with their families while they go to secondary school, there are many girls, like Saratou, for whom the program provides vital support without which they would definitely not be able to continue their education.

With gratitude, thank you for making education a reality for these girls.