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,...
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...
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. Full URL:
NPCA Profiling Volunteers 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...
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...
Leslie Clark and the Nomad Foundation are putting together a festival on a ranch in the hills above Ojai, California to help raise money for the Center for Nomadic Life. 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,...
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. Full URL: http://friendsofniger.org/features/RPCV_works
Come visit our photos page to see Niger captured through the eyes of different photographers. "Womanhood" - by Irene Abdou This week we're featuring terrific new photographs by Irene Abdou, an RPCV who served in the Torodi/Tera area from 1995 to 1999. Full URL: http://friendsofniger.org/photos
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...
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...