Seeds of Hope Africa; Life in a mud hut
Letter to the Editor of the Independent Review;
Waking up to a high pitched little voice yelling "Wayna mai tubshi!", announcing to the village the millet cakes her mother is making and selling, that's how my mornings start. (I can only expect so much from my treasured earplugs.) I stay a few extra moments tucked into my mosquito net, listening to the bustle going on around me and enjoying the cool morning air. As breakfast seekers peer over the millet stalk fence surrounding my yard to see if I'm still sleeping, I quickly close my eyes to savor the last few minutes of tranquility for the day. Once they know I'm awake, the barrage of visitors on their way to the fields and hundreds of curious little eyes eager to watch my every move will descend.
The hut that the chief of the village, my Nigerien father, built me is within his concession/yard. The millet stalk fence surrounding my space is a token separation at best since at any given time I can look up to find each hole in the fence filled with a little face eager to see what Zoulleha is going to do next. I'm excited to say that my latrine is in the process of being constructed and should be done in a couple days. I have just a few weeks left in the village to enjoy this rare luxury in the African bush. There are only two other latrines in my village, one of which was just dug last week. I've been making trips to my friend Muntare's house to use his "facility" when need be.
The Seeds of Hope Africa goat loan meetings have been full of enthusiasm, gratitude, group photos, and irresistible baby goats. We have followed up with the existing women's groups finding that they have taken ownership of the project, solved any challenges that have arisen, and are utterly grateful for the "alheri", goodness, they've received. Many of the groups have taken advantage of the goat loan project caisse, or bank, that each participant contributes to each month. The money is foremost used for goat veterinary needs or replacement in the case of a death, but also for members to borrow for use in income generating activities such as the sale of peanut oil processed from raw peanuts and making/selling millet cakes. The loans are repaid, with interest, and the reserves have grown.
We have named the Seeds of Hope Africa goat loan project Alkawalin Cigaba Mata, a Hausa phrase meaning; women fulfilling the promise of tomorrow.
Ibrihim and Muntare, two close friends from my village, as well as the involved Peace Corps Volunteers, have been instrumental in being our eyes and ears on the ground in my absence. They will be doing meetings every two months with each village and communicating progress reports. The facts that cell phone service is available now, and that Muntare has a motorcycle for transport to each village makes this all possible.
Yesterday, after a less than comfortable ride, three deep on a motorcycle, we arrived at the prospective SoHA villages. We met with the chiefs and gave a brief explanation of the project, then asked the town crier to gather the women. Within an hour, we had the available women gathered on mats under a tree, ready to hear the news. The meetings were met with cheers, blessings, and assurances that they will have the group leaders elected and lists of participants organized by our follow up meeting this coming week. Each group is required to show this initiative in order to receive the funding necessary to buy the goats.
Time is flying by, and sooner than later, I know I will be driving down the lovely, smooth Minnesota roads thinking about these women shouting their blessings and thanks as we get up to leave the village. Each meeting, I share with them that the money for the goats has come from other women, mothers, and families in America who have heard about them and have passed on their hard earned money so that they may live a little better here in Niger. "May God give them goodness and wealth", "May God help them when they need it most", "Give them our thanks", "We thank you", are just a few of the words that follow us as we walk to the motorcycle to pile on and head through the sand to the next destination. So to all of you who have given of yourself to make this all possible, hear those blessings and words of thanks, they are for you.
Sincerely,
Zoulleha
Angela Kieffer
Seeds of Hope Africa
PO Box 50482
Minneapolis, MN 55405
ph# 651-285-4727
www.seedsofhopeafrica.org
To the world you may be one person,
But to one person you may be the world.
Waking up to a high pitched little voice yelling "Wayna mai tubshi!", announcing to the village the millet cakes her mother is making and selling, that's how my mornings start. (I can only expect so much from my treasured earplugs.) I stay a few extra moments tucked into my mosquito net, listening to the bustle going on around me and enjoying the cool morning air. As breakfast seekers peer over the millet stalk fence surrounding my yard to see if I'm still sleeping, I quickly close my eyes to savor the last few minutes of tranquility for the day. Once they know I'm awake, the barrage of visitors on their way to the fields and hundreds of curious little eyes eager to watch my every move will descend.
The hut that the chief of the village, my Nigerien father, built me is within his concession/yard. The millet stalk fence surrounding my space is a token separation at best since at any given time I can look up to find each hole in the fence filled with a little face eager to see what Zoulleha is going to do next. I'm excited to say that my latrine is in the process of being constructed and should be done in a couple days. I have just a few weeks left in the village to enjoy this rare luxury in the African bush. There are only two other latrines in my village, one of which was just dug last week. I've been making trips to my friend Muntare's house to use his "facility" when need be.
The Seeds of Hope Africa goat loan meetings have been full of enthusiasm, gratitude, group photos, and irresistible baby goats. We have followed up with the existing women's groups finding that they have taken ownership of the project, solved any challenges that have arisen, and are utterly grateful for the "alheri", goodness, they've received. Many of the groups have taken advantage of the goat loan project caisse, or bank, that each participant contributes to each month. The money is foremost used for goat veterinary needs or replacement in the case of a death, but also for members to borrow for use in income generating activities such as the sale of peanut oil processed from raw peanuts and making/selling millet cakes. The loans are repaid, with interest, and the reserves have grown.
We have named the Seeds of Hope Africa goat loan project Alkawalin Cigaba Mata, a Hausa phrase meaning; women fulfilling the promise of tomorrow.
Ibrihim and Muntare, two close friends from my village, as well as the involved Peace Corps Volunteers, have been instrumental in being our eyes and ears on the ground in my absence. They will be doing meetings every two months with each village and communicating progress reports. The facts that cell phone service is available now, and that Muntare has a motorcycle for transport to each village makes this all possible.
Yesterday, after a less than comfortable ride, three deep on a motorcycle, we arrived at the prospective SoHA villages. We met with the chiefs and gave a brief explanation of the project, then asked the town crier to gather the women. Within an hour, we had the available women gathered on mats under a tree, ready to hear the news. The meetings were met with cheers, blessings, and assurances that they will have the group leaders elected and lists of participants organized by our follow up meeting this coming week. Each group is required to show this initiative in order to receive the funding necessary to buy the goats.
Time is flying by, and sooner than later, I know I will be driving down the lovely, smooth Minnesota roads thinking about these women shouting their blessings and thanks as we get up to leave the village. Each meeting, I share with them that the money for the goats has come from other women, mothers, and families in America who have heard about them and have passed on their hard earned money so that they may live a little better here in Niger. "May God give them goodness and wealth", "May God help them when they need it most", "Give them our thanks", "We thank you", are just a few of the words that follow us as we walk to the motorcycle to pile on and head through the sand to the next destination. So to all of you who have given of yourself to make this all possible, hear those blessings and words of thanks, they are for you.
Sincerely,
Zoulleha
Angela Kieffer
Seeds of Hope Africa
PO Box 50482
Minneapolis, MN 55405
ph# 651-285-4727
www.seedsofhopeafrica.org
To the world you may be one person,
But to one person you may be the world.
posted by Seeds of Hope Africa at
Sunday, November 02, 2008
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