John Soloninka- President Gabriella Maertens- VP Penni St. Hilaire- Secretary Larry Koff- Treasurer Jude Andreasen- Member At Large Steve Bushell- Webmaster
"Hello!" in Hausa, Zarma/Fulfulde, Tarmachek and Kanuri, the languages of Niger.
Peace Corps Week: March 1 - 7, 2010
Celebrate the 49th anniversary of the Peace Corps
This year join the Peace Corps community nationwide and celebrate the Peace Corps' 49th anniversary with a third goal activity! Honor Volunteers of past and present and your host countries by bringing the world home. You can do this through a variety of ways such as organizing a cultural event, presenting an exhibit of photographs or crafts, or visiting a classroom.
Don't forget to register your third goal participation at http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/speakersmatch/! This is the only means we have to demonstrate the impact of third goal events to Congress.
Five Returned Peace Corps Volunteers began filming their experiences during a return trip to Niger in 2008. Now they are hoping to turn these experiences into a full-length documentary.
Jic Clubb, Filingue 1967
From the documentary web site:
In the summer of 1966 a group of 65 idealistic Peace Corps volunteers headed for Africa and landed in the dusty, heat-scorched desert of Niger.
We stayed for two years working in agriculture, digging wells and starting health clinics for women and their babies.
In 2008 five of us returned to Niger to revisit the country, see our old friends and witness how our work has improved the lives of the people there.
The documentary also explores the culture shock of re-entry into the U.S. in the turmoil of 1968 and how our experience in Africa influenced our future work.
This is our collective story.
Come check out the Niger '66 web site to see the trailer and read about the progress of the film.
How do you connect over 200,000 current and returned Peace Corps Volunteers with the African Diaspora, development practitioners, scholars, technology innovators, and anyone who cares about Africa to change lives? Africa Rural Connect.
Africa Rural Connect is, quite literally, global collaboration, leveraging technology to enable anyone in the world to build upon the ideas of others. The ARC Project introduces and encourages a new form of collaboration. When you read someone's idea for Africa, not only can you comment on it and endorse it, you can rewrite it by adding information from your own personal experience and insights.
That's why Africa Rural Connect needs you. Your ideas could be helping someone now.
Here are a couple of YouTube videos sure to bring back some good memories (if you've been to Niger):
And a few more related to Niger that you might find interesting:
Posted July 16, 2009
Contribute To The Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Digital Library
The Peace Corps is inviting former volunteers to submit stories and photos from their volunteer experiences to be used in the 50th anniversary celebration of the Peace Corps. From their web site:
The 50th Anniversary Digital Library provides a searchable collection of electronic Peace Corps materials from 1961-present, including:
Photos and stories contributed by Volunteers and RPCVs, using an online submission form
Digitized newsletters, speeches, annual reports and other key agency historical materials
Contributions of photos and historical documents from country posts
Brochures, posters, audio and video clips, and marketing materials from each decade of Peace Corps history
Peace Corps invites current and returned Volunteers to share a story and/or photos from your Peace Corps experience. Stories will be collected from Volunteers serving in each generation of the Peace Corps, from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and on through to the present.
By sharing a story and photos that reflect your unique experience in the place and time you served, you will help enrich Americans' understanding of what it means to have been a Peace Corps Volunteer. Many of the stories and photos submitted to the digital library will be used to honor and celebrate our legacy of service during Peace Corps' 50th anniversary celebration in 2011. Digital library materials will be accessible to the public through the Peace Corps website, and will be shared with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
We are currently accepting electronic submission of stories and photos from current and returned Volunteers only. If you are a Volunteer or RPCV, please read the complete photo submission guidelines and story submission guidelines for details on what we are collecting and how to submit your materials.
If you are not a Volunteer or RPCV but would like to submit material to the Digital Library, please contact us at digital@peacecorps.gov.
YouTube Video: Niger RPCV Dr. Bill Miles Discusses His Memoir
Author and Northeastern Professor William Miles, discusses his memoir, My African Horse Problem on December 3, 2008.
Miles returned to Niger in 2000 with his ten-year-old son Samuel, to resolve an inheritance dispute over a horse. His experience captivated National Public Radio, and "All Things Considered" covered both his pre-departure story and follow-up after his visit. His account weaves together memoir, history and anthropology and journeys back to his days in Niger in the 1970s and 1980s as a Peace Corps volunteer and Fulbright scholar.
Posted July 16, 2009
After Nearly Four Decades Apart A Friendship Blossoms
In case you missed it, come check out our April 2009 Camel Express (PDF, 1.3 MB), posted directly below, for the heartwarming story about how a Peace Corps volunteer from the early 1970's reunited with his old Nigerien friend over thirty years later, and they continued to enrich each other's lives.
John and Idy reunite after 31 years
John Baird first met Idy Gondah while living in his village as a volunteer in the early 70's. John never thought that decades later he would help Idy's son Mourtalla make the dream of coming to America to further his education become real, but against long odds Idy is already one year through his education.
In addition to the Camel Express, you can find more information about John, Idy, and Mourtallah on two MySpace pages set up with information about their story and how you can help Mourtallah and others with their educations:
Niger has always been a rich country for archeological research. This blog post links to a research paper outlining some of the more notable archeological finds and their significance.
It's highly technical information, but it's interesting to get an idea of all the work going in in the country relating to the history of mankind.
Niger RPCV Plans Cross-Country Fundraiser for World Food Program
Andrew Marinelli, a recent RPCV from Niger, is planning an ambitious "Third Goal" service project. Beginning in March of 2009, he will begin a 6,000 mile bicycle ride from Key West, Florida, to San Francisco, California, stopping at primary and secondary schools along the way to give talks about his experiences in Niger, and help spread awareness about global hunger, rising food costs, and areas affected by conflict, while raising money for the World Food Program
With a goal of raising $100,000 for the WFP, Andrew will cross fifteen states, and visit ten state capitals and dozens of college and university campuses. He will also be contacting local media across the country with the hopes of reaching a target audience of millions of people.
To learn more about how to help via sponsorship or other activities, you can contact Andrew by phone or email:
Andrew Marinelli
World Food Program - Fundraiser Event Coordinator
Phone: 803-443-9343
andrewmarinelli@gmail.com
Posted February 9, 2009
Peace Corps RPCV Career Event To Be Held February 10-13 In Washington DC
Reconnect with the Peace Corps community and give your job search a jump start with four days of career-development workshops and discussions for recently returned Peace Corps Volunteers.
This is a FREE event for RPCVs. Pre-registration is required for all sessions, and attendees are responsible for their own travel, food, and lodging costs.
NPCA Profiling Volunteers Taking Action on Climate Change
Help Take Part By Contributing Your Own Submissions
The National Peace Corps Association is looking for Peace Corps volunteers, returned or current, who are taking action on climate change. The goal is to show how climate change affects their country of service, and to spotlight the activities that they are involved in to help reduce humanity's effect on the environment.
The advocacy team at the NPCA is calling for submissions in the form of videos or testimonials that you would be willing to share with others showing how climate change affects communities in Niger. This is a great opportunity to showcase how this important issue affects the fragile environment that so many Nigeriens depend on.
If you don't have videos, you can also contribute by submitting a Climate Change Profile, to highlight the work you do on a professional or personal level to fight climate change.
Please visit the NPCA's web site to submit your own profile:
Thank you for helping to raise awareness of this critical issue!
Posted October 27, 2008
EstroGenius Festival Presents Voices Of Africa
Partnership With Peace Corps Niger And Friends Of Niger Supports Young Girls Scholarship Program
The Estrogenius Festival's Voices Of Africa (VOA) is a collaboration with Peace Corps Niger. This unique collaboration, featuring stories, poems and songs written by young Nigerien women, will be held on Saturday, November 1, 2008.
Ginger O'Neill, a former Estrogenius Festival volunteer, created the Pangea Festival in Niger along with co-creators Michelle Stoner and Sheena Washington while serving a two-year Peace Corps appointment in the country. Pangea brings together people from diverse villages and features events for girls and teens that help them to express their voices through music, poetry, prose, yoga, dance and other creative disciplines.
During the Pangea festival, young Nigerien women wrote poems, stories and songs that were translated into English and sent to New York City to be performed as part of Voices of Africa. 100% of the funds raised from the performances will be donated to the Young Girls Scholarship Program, which sends girls in Niger to school and the Pangea Festival in Niger.
The event will be held on Saturday, November 1st, at the Manhattan Theatre Source. Please visit their web site for tickets, or to make a tax-deductible donation:
NPCA Launching MorePeaceCorps Campaign To Increase Support for Peace Corps
100 House Parties Across United States Targeted For September 6, 2008
MorePeaceCorps is a campaign launched in 2008 by the National Peace Corps Association with the goal of increasing support for the Peace Corps, eventually doubling its budget and worldwide volunteer base by 2011, the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps.
MorePeaceCorps will begin by throwing 100 House Parties across the United States to rally support for this crucial goal.
You can help out by hosting a party, arranging for donations, coordinating publicity, writing letters and/or op-ed pieces, or simply attending your local house party!
If you are interested in becoming an official MorePeaceCorps local organizer or simply learning more about 100 House Parties, please contact May Wilkerson at MorePeaceCorps, or visit the official MorePeaceCorps web site.
Niger Documentary Filmmaker Wins Golden Giraffe Award
Ingrid Patetta's documentary, At The Center Of The Earth - Of Wells and Men, has recently won a Golden Giraffe award at the International Environmental Film Festival of Niamey.
Honoring the traditional know-how of the Hausa well-diggers of Niger, the film reveals the pride, the tradition, and the determination of these Sahelian men who dig the earth with their bare hands in order to access water.
The film has also been chosen as an Official Selection the represent the African continent for the International Water and Cinema Events World Water Forum, taking place in Istanbul in March of 2009.
We congratulate Ingrid and hope she continues to produce more wonderful and educational films about Niger.
The Center for Nomadic Life is designed to meet the basic needs of nomads living near Ingall as their life becomes increasingly challenging. Tickets are still available at the Nomadic Festival web site.
Come spend the day enjoying art, exhibitions, food, music, and more, all for a great cause!
The Fall 2008 issue of WorldView Magazine will center on the theme "Peace Corps for the 21st Century", and is looking for your submissions.
In three years, Peace Corps will celebrate its 50th anniversary. How has it fared in that time? What is its legacy-and its future? Can a bigger, better and bolder Peace Corps be part of an overall "smart power" effort to restore U.S. standing in the world to better help address pressing global problems?
Tentative topic areas include:
Goals and Models: If Peace Corps was invented now what would it look like, how would it be organized? How does Peace Corps stack up with its competition?
Partnership: How could Peace Corps be more open to and creative in working with other entities?
Technology: How is technology changing Peace Corps and what can Peace Corps do to make better use of technology?
Size and Scale: How could we scale Peace Corps and obtain the resources required to do that and still ensure quality?
Click here to learn more about submission guidelines and other details.
Former Peace Corps director Jim Bullington has released a book about his service in Niger. In Adventures in Service with Peace Corps in Niger Jim gives the reader "an informed perspective on poverty, development, politics, culture, and security" in our favorite region of the Sahel.
Come check out this and other books in the Books section of our web site.
The Fallen Peace Corps Volunteers Memorial Project is a non-profit corporation created by the sister and mother of fallen Niger Peace Corps volunteer Jeremiah Mack to honor volunteers who died in service.
The site was created in 2004, and has grown to include fallen volunteers from many countries, including five PCV's from Niger. In all, 271 volunteers have died while serving as volunteers.
In addition to the site, the organization seeks to create a permanent physical memorial honoring all fallen volunteers.
Those attending the 35th Anniversary of Peace Corps in Niger in July 1997 were moved to revitalize the almost defunct Friends of Niger group, which had been started by Meredith McGehee; a balance of $6,000 remained in a bank account in Washington, DC. The process took almost a year and now ten years later seems like a good time to look back and celebrate the accomplishments of Friends of Niger as Niger has just celebrated the 45th anniversary of Peace Corps in Niger.
Please have a look at our About FON page to see the list of our accomplishments, from the beginnings of the web site and newsletter, to famine relief and fund raising for a variety of projects,.
The link is also found at the top-left of every page on our site.
Peace Corps Week is an opportunity for returned Volunteers and their extended Peace Corps family - staff, friends and family of Volunteers, as well as friends of the Peace Corps - to partake in promoting cross-cultural understanding, world peace, and friendship by shining a spotlight on the important work of our Volunteers around the world and the continuing service that returned Volunteers bring to communities in the United States.
Produced by the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Wisconsin, the International Calendar is back for 2008 with another collection of beautiful photographs.
You can order the calendar for $12 each, or two or more for $10 each. Please see our order form on the Join FON page for details on how to order.
Proceeds from the calendar sales will support Friends of Niger's projects in Niger. Order now, supplies are limited and you don't want to miss out!
December 2007 Camel Express Available Online
Click here (PDF, 2.1 MB) for the latest edition of the Camel Express, including stories and news, from and about Niger.
In May of 2007 the USPS eliminated International Surface Mail which was used by many organizations and individuals to support important grass-roots humanitarian projects around the world.
Friends of Niger has joined the movement to petition the US Congress to reverse this change. Click here to see our open letter to the House Committee overseeing the Postal Service, pleading with them to reconsider this unfortunate change that will affect many small but important organizations.
Partnership With Peace Corps Niger And Friends Of Niger Supports Young Girls Scholarship Program
On Friday, September 28th, and Saturday, September 29th, the EstroGenius Festival will present Voices Of Africa, a cross cultural collaboration with Peace Corps Niger, and Friends of Niger, to benefit the Young Girls Scholarship Program (YGSP). Voices of Africa features stories, poems, and songs written by Nigerien young women and performed by New York City teenagers at Manhattan Theatre Source.
The program was created by Ginger O'Neil, a former EstroGenius Festival volunteer currently serving a two year Peace Corps appointment in Niger, along with co-creators Michelle Stoner and Sheena Washington. Ginger teaches reading and writing along with music classes to young women in her village, Birni N'Gaoure, and throughout Niger. She has transcribed her students' words, poems, and stories and sent them to New York City to be performed by teenage girls.
Voices of Africa performances will be held Friday, September 28 at 6:00 pm and Saturday, September 28 at 2:30 pm at Manhattan Theatre Source (177 MacDougal Street, between Waverly Pl. & W. 8th St; Subway: A/C/E or B/D/F/V to W 4th St.). Tickets are $15 at http://www.theatresource.org or (212) 260-4698.
All proceeds benefit the Young Girls Scholarship Program which provides academic scholarships to Nigerien girls.
August 2007 Camel Express Available Online
Click here (PDF, 1.9 MB) for the latest edition of the Camel Express, including stories and news, from and about Niger.
Young Girls Scholarship Program
Conference Photos Posted
Click here to see recent photos from the Young Girls Scholarship Program Annual Conference.
To read more about the Young Girls Scholarship Program, check out the August issue of the Camel Express (PDF, 1.9 MB).
RPCV Career Planning Conference
Scheduled for September 4-7, 2007
Next week, Peace Corps' Office of Domestic Programs, Returned Volunteer Services, will host an RPCV Career Planning Conference. The conference is a week-long series of free events focused on job searching and career resources for recently returned Peace Corps Volunteers.
The events will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 4 and will continue through Friday, Sept. 7.
All sessions will be held in Washington, DC.
Pre-registration is required for the sessions.
Please feel free to post the flyer and/or share copies of it with RPCVs in your network.
More information on the RPCV Career Planning Conference can be found at http://www.peacecorps.gov/rpcv/events.
Peace Corps / Niger 45th Anniversary
Pagne Design Released
Visit our movies page to see more previews of Dan's movies and find out how you can see the entire movie.
Peace Corps Wiki is Up and Running
The Peace Corps Wiki is a collaborative project whose goal is to create a free, interactive, and up-to-date source of information about serving as a volunteer with the U.S. Peace Corps. Anyone is welcome to edit, add, or change any entry, or start a new one. So far there are a total of 260 pages that have been written and edited by (R)PCVs and Friends of Peace Corps from around the world.
Note that the contents of the Peace Corps Wiki are generated by the public, and do not reflect any official position of the U. S. Government or the U. S. Peace Corps. Nevertheless, the wiki has the potential for becoming an invaluable source of information for anyone seeking knowledge about the Peace Corps and the countries of service.
The Peace Corps staff in Niger is preparing to celebrate the 45th year of Peace Corps in Niger, including a series of activities and events taking place in September.
For questions or more information, please contact Christopher Burns in the Niger Peace Corps office at cburns@ne.peacecorps.gov.
NPR Explores Niger's Climate and Culture
National Public Radio has produced a few short but informative videos on climate change, with one video featuring Niger, and focusing on a recent well-known story about how trees are finally returning to the desert:
We at the Friends of Niger are looking for someone who can volunteer their time to help build our membership base.
Join us, and be part of a small organization seeking to make a difference in the lives of Nigeriens. The more members we have, the more we can accomplish. We need your help now!
Mercy Corps is giving special attention to Niger's ongoing cycle of hunger in their fundraising efforts, calling it one of the world's "Silent Disasters".
Long months of hunger between meager harvests hold Niger's families in a brutal grip. Mercy Corps is helping them break free.
Successive poor harvests put more than 3.5 million Nigeriens - about 20 percent of that country's entire population - at risk for chronic malnutrition and other dire health problems. Children, already Niger's most vulnerable population, have been most affected of all. Today, Mercy Corps is working to help determined Nigeriens build locally sustainable, resilient health and nutrition networks so that communities can cope with crisis - and mothers can provide a healthier future for their young children.
Please take some time to look at the work Mercy Corps is doing in Niger and around the world.
US Postal Service Eliminates International Surface Mail
Grass roots organizations impacted by rate changes; sign the petition to bring back Surface Mail!
On May 14, 2007 the USPS eliminated International Surface Mail which was used by many organizations and individuals to support meaningful, humanitarian projects around the world.
A movement is underway to petition the US Congress to reverse this change. Please join us and sign the petition so that our collective voice can be heard.
Recently Boston University students Magali Carette and Sarah Garton spent some time with Habsou Aboubacar, who runs Tin-Hinan, a non-governmental organization supported in part by Friends of Niger.
Sarah sent us the following report, along with a few pictures, after their stay in Niger. Read the Tin-Hinan Update:
Nigerien Film Maker Seeks Niger RPCVs for Video Documentary
A Nigerien who was a language teacher for PC Niger (1990) is currently in the US on a fellowship for foreign journalists.
He sends the following message - please contact him if you are interesting in helping.
Since 1990, I've been a journalist and a communicator, owning a communications agency called Les Echos du Sahel, and dealing [with the] rural world and development (printing, broadcasting, training, advising, etc.).
I arrived in the U.S. last June on behalf of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program.
One of the aims of this fellowship funded by the State department of the USA is to allow mid-careers professionals from the developing world a year of rewarding experiences and studies in the U.S. so that they can benefit academically and professionally.
One of my projects is to make a video documentary about RPCVs who are still involved with Niger in one way or another.
But all my attempts to reach these folks have been unsuccessful.
The idea is: after 45 years of a successful presence in Niger, some RPCVs have kept contact with their host country, in the spirit of the program created by President Kennedy.
Whether they work in civil society or as individuals, I want to portray them in their daily life and show how they continue to impact and improve the reality or the image of Niger.
My host university is the Philip Merrill school of Journalism (University of Maryland - College Park) where I am currently enrolled in Broadcasting and International Development studies.
I will be staying in the US until next June.
Please feel free to contact me for questions.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sai An Jima!
Ibbo Daddy Abdoulaye
Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow
Philip Merrill School of Journalism
1117 Journalism Building
University of Maryland-College Park
Maryland, MD 20742
Phone: 301-405-2003
Fax: 301-405-9385
Email: ibbo_daddy@yahoo.com
Welsh Teen Siriol Teifi Inspired Into Action After Visit To Niger
A welsh teenager was so moved by her experience in visiting a Médecins Sans Frontières project in the world's poorest country that she has set up an online account with justgiving.com so that people can finance the project.
18 year-old Ysgol Dyffryn Teifi sixth-former, Siriol Teifi visited Niger in February of 2007 to see for herself the situation 16 months after the terrible famine of Autumn 2005.
Back in November 2005, Siriol raised 2000 UK pounds for Christian Aid's Niger appeal by fasting for a week at school.
Now Siriol has set up a web page and an online account with justgiving.com so visitors can make donations online to Médecins Sans Frontières with all the funds raised going to the Project in Maradi in the name of the people of Wales.
Click here to read more and donate to the cause: http://cymorthniger.com/ (Click the "English" link on the new page to read it in English.)
Thinking of Joining Friends of Niger?
Now is the time!
Friends of Niger is now offering a free year of membership for first-time members.
Together we can make a difference in the lives of Nigeriens.
Click here to join FON today!
Niger Making Progress, Struggling With Population Growth
The New York Times has a nice article discussing the progress Niger has made against desertification over the past few decades, while continuing to deal with a fast growing population.
The Frends of Niger discussion boards are back!
Please stop in to say hi, talk about Niger, look for old friends, makes some new ones, or just post your thoughts about life in the Sahel.
Fund Raisers planned for San Francisco and Washington DC to Support Boarding House
Virginia Emmons is the co-founder and director of Educate Tomorrow, an international non-profit organization seeking to provide equitable access to education for all people
Virginia is also a Niger RPCV, and is helping to organize fundraisers in San Francisco and Washington DC whose main goal is to raise money for a boarding house in Kirtachi, Niger.
When the Peace Corps left the Kirtachi region, the Peace Corps and the Nigerien government agreed to donate the former Peace Corps hostel and land to the project.
Now, money is needed to convert and operate the hostel so that middle-school students from the region who live in far away villages can stay in the hostel, enabling them to attend school regularly.
Students from Kabey Fo, a village 25 kilometers away from the nearest middle school, will be the first beneficiaries of the project.
The fund raisers will include wine tasting and silent auctions. Items to be auctioned include a cruise, a week at a beach house, art work, wine, and more. Organizers are still accepting donations for the silent auctions.
Event Dates:
San Francisco: August 18, 2006
Washington DC: September 8, 2006
To volunteer, make a donation, or for general information, please contact Virginia Emmons at info@educatetomorrow.org.
FON Supports Micro-credit Projects in Niger
At the March 12, 2006 meeting of the Board of Directors of Friends of Niger, the board voted to allocate the sum of $500 to a newly formed NGO, Tin-Hinan.
In the past year FON members have contributed over $1000 earmarked for micro-credit projects.
RPCV Sue Rosenfeld will present the check to this organization on behalf of FON when she returns to Niger in late April.
Tin-Hinan is a non-profit registered with the government of Niger.
The founder and president of this organization is a Tuarag woman, Habsatou Aboubacar.
Rural women in Niger encounter enormous difficulties, among others, the lack of sources of revenue because of lack of means and time to take part in activities that will generate revenue and permit them to be financially independent.
Our donation will help finance the micro-credit operation for the women of Goroubi in the Tillabery Region to enable the women of this region to provide for their needs and the needs of their children.
For more information on this project, contact Gabriella Maertens at gmaertens@earthlink.net.
Niger Fundraiser a Success!
Lamine Touré
On February 25th, The Homegrown Coffeehouse in Needham, MA, a suburb of Boston, presented A Night of West African Music as a fundraiser for Niger.
Three West African musical groups came together to play to a standing room only crowd.
The groups included the Agbekor Society playing high energy polyrhythmic traditional music from Ghana and Togo, The JAG Drum and Dance Ensemble featuring special guest Mohammed Kalifa Camara performing traditional music from his homeland of Guinea, and Lamine Touré and Group Saloum fusing Senegalese mbalax with elements of jazz, funk, reggae and Afro-pop.
Drumming and singing filled the room as more than 250 people enjoyed the show and were moved to clap, sing and dance in the isles.
All of the groups donated their performances and 100% of proceeds, over $4300, were donated to Oxfam America.
Niger RPCV Sheri Kennedy Raising Money for Oxfam
After reading about the food crisis in Niger, Sheri Kennedy, a Niger RPCV currently working as a professional artist in the Boston area, was inspired to create a painting as a fundraiser.
"The painting is done from a photo of my villagers outside Dossey, north of Birni n'Konni", Kennedy says, "and is called Tilling the Soil, Dossey, Niger."
High-quality giclée reproductions of the painting are available for $40 (plus shipping). Approximtely $10 of the proceeds of each print will be forwarded on to Oxfam.
"The more prints are ordered, the more the printing costs drop, and therefore the more will go to Oxfam.
Please pass this along to anyone you know who might be interested in buying art to feed Niger."
Prints can be ordered at Sheri's Art-Think web site:
FON has begun a campaign to reopen the USAID mission in Niamey.
Please see our letter to Andrew Natsios (the USAID administrator), then contact John Soloninka (FON's president) if you want to get involved in our efforts.
Tuaregs in Abalak Still Waiting for Aid
Ingrid Patetta, a filmmaker residing in New York, recently returned from the Abalak region in the northern Tahoua department.
She has produced an excellent 7-minute video on behalf of Tagaste, a small NGO that is trying to bring the current plight of Tuareg nomads to the world's attention.
She is making the film available on the Internet, and she is interested in partnering with Friends of Niger around the U.S. to organize public screenings of the film to raise funds for Tagaste's work with the people of Abalak, many of whom have yet to receive assistance in the year-old food crisis.
