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Neuf nouvelles bourses attribuées

Notre processus d’octroi de subventions devient une machine bien huilée ! Nous avons reçu 31 demandes de financement cet automne, et après avoir jugé 2 d’entre elles inéligibles, notre équipe de bénévoles intrépides a examiné les propositions restantes. Nos sincères remerciements vont aux membres de FON qui se sont portés volontaires pour cette ronde. Leur participation ajoute une réelle valeur à ce processus.

Chaque volontaire a examiné 4 à 5 propositions de manière indépendante et les a notées par rapport à nos critères. Ensuite, ils se sont réunis en petits groupes pour discuter de leurs conclusions et ont formulé des recommandations au Comité de gestion des subventions. L’approche d’équipe garantit un résultat réfléchi et complet. Depuis le printemps 2021, 48 bénévoles ont participé aux évaluations de subventions !! Bravo aux membres FON !

Une fois sélectionné, chaque projet bénéficie en plus d’un champion FON. Encore une autre façon pour les membres FON de participer ! Le champion reste en contact avec le bénéficiaire et veille à ce qu’il nous fasse rapport et l’aide à l’encadrer tout au long du processus de mise en œuvre, si nécessaire. Veuillez envisager de nous rejoindre dans les rôles d’évaluateur de subventions et/ou de champion de projet à l’avenir.

l’ÉDUCATION

Bancs Ecoles Tessaoua / CDGES Tessaoua . 2 869 $     Le comité local de gestion de l’école coordonnera la fabrication et l’installation de tables/bancs scolaires pour accueillir 160 élèves.

Construction de l’école Sabon Guida / Tagaz Espoir . 5 000 $     Deux volontaires qui ont servi à Sabon Guida à différentes époques ont uni leurs forces pour réaliser ce projet. Kristen Patterson (96-98) et Amy Tekié (01-03) collectent des fonds supplémentaires pour compléter les fonds du FON et travaillent avec une organisation à but non lucratif au Niger pour construire une salle de classe « semi- dur ». La communauté est inhabituelle dans la mesure où elle est à la fois haoussa et peule.

Soutien aux Guides pour aveugles et handicapées / Centre des Femmes MICA de Maradi . 4 486 $     Les jeunes filles qui guident les personnes aveugles ou handicapées qui mendient pour gagner leur vie n’ont pas la possibilité d’aller à l’école et leurs options sont limitées. A Maradi , ces filles ont contacté le MICA pour exprimer leur désir de se former aux activités génératrices de revenus . Ce projet offrira une formation à 25 filles et fournira des conseils de carrière pour promouvoir l’autonomie financière afin d’améliorer les conditions de vie de toute la famille.

Deux Jardins Scolaires Agadez / Les Puits du Désert et TIDENE . 5 054 $     Faisant suite à un projet similaire réussi l’année dernière, ce projet installera des pompes solaires et un système d’irrigation « californien » dans deux jardins scolaires. Une formation en maraîchage est également dispensée aux enseignants et aux membres de la communauté.

L’irrigation californienne est un réseau de citernes construites au niveau du sol et reliées par des tubes souterrains. Lorsqu’une citerne, généralement à côté du puits, est remplie, l’eau trouve son propre niveau et remplit toutes les citernes au même niveau. Cela réduit le besoin de transporter manuellement l’eau vers différentes zones du jardin.

Depuis 2002, FON a alloué 108 654 $ à 38 projets au profit de l’éducation

l’EAU ET À LA SANTÉ

Latrines pour Lycée Tchadoua /MICA . 4 494 $    Des latrines et des postes de lavage des mains seront installés pour les étudiants. Une formation et une éducation sur l’importance de l’hygiène et de l’assainissement seront dispensées. En plus d’améliorer la santé, la fourniture de meilleures installations sanitaires contribue également à maintenir les filles à l’école.

Puits Réhabilitation Tabelot /AFAA . 4 457 $     Ce projet permettra de restaurer un puits dans une zone reculée à l’extérieur d’Agadez , desservant au moins 100 familles. Les travaux consisteront à colmater les fissures, à installer un couvercle de puits et à fournir un système de pompe solaire.

Autonomiser les femmes grâce à l’eau propre / ONG Récupération des Mendiants ( RECUP ). 4 615 $

Un château d’eau sera construit et configuré avec l’énergie solaire pour desservir cinq villages voisins. Une centaine de femmes seront formées à la gestion des ressources en eau, à l’hygiène et aux pratiques durables de l’eau dans la région de Maradi , commune de Tibiri .

Depuis 2002, FON a alloué au moins 156 672 $ pour l’eau et la santé

LES FEMMES ET LES JEUNES

Valoriser les produits agricoles Agadez / Tamakrast . 4 646 $    Ce projet offrira une formation aux femmes membres des coopératives en matière de gestion financière ainsi que de techniques de transformation et de conservation. Les achats comprendront une unité de transformation et de conservation, un séchoir solaire, un congélateur, un moulin (à farine) et d’autres équipements nécessaires. La transformation des produits agricoles lorsqu’ils sont abondants crée de nouveaux marchés, prolonge la saison de vente et de consommation et augmente les profits.

Formation Tailleur et Maroquinerie / DIMA . 5 000 $    Cette subvention permettra d’assurer les neuf derniers mois de formation dans le cadre d’un programme de 27 mois destiné à 60 étudiants en couture et en travail du cuir, comprenant l’enseignement, l’équipement, les fournitures et le transport. Ces étudiants recrutés dans la ville de Niamey, étaient pour la plupart des décrocheurs qui avaient peu de perspectives. Ce programme intensif leur a permis de rejoindre des ateliers qui produisent des objets artisanaux de qualité destinée à l’exportation et où ils gagneront un salaire décent.

Depuis 2002, FON a alloué au moins 212 314 $ aux femmes et aux jeunes.

Grants Awarded by Friends of Niger November 2023

School Benches Tessaoua / CDGES Tessaoua. $2,869

            The local School Management Committee will coordinate the fabrication and installation of school table/benches to serve 160 students.

Sabon Gida School Construction / Tagaz Espoir. $5,000

            Two volunteers who served in Sabon Guida at different times have joined forces to make this project happen. Kristen Patterson (96-98) and Amy Tekié (01-03) are raising additional funds to complement FON funds and working with a non-profit in Niger to build a ‘semi-dur’ classroom. The community is unusual in that it is both Hausa and Fulani.

Support of Girl Guides for blind and disabled / MICA Women’s Center of Maradi.  $4,486           

            Young girls who are the guides for blind or disabled people who beg for a living do not have the opportunity to go to school and their options are limited. In Maradi, these girls have reached out to MICA expressing their desire for training in income generating activities. This project will provide training to 25 girls and provide career advice to promote financial autonomy geared to improve living conditions for the whole family.

Two School Gardens Agadez / Les Puits du Désert et TIDENE. $5,054         

            Following on the heels of a similar successful project last year, this project will install solar pumps and ‘California*” irrigation in two school gardens.  Training in market gardening is also provided for teachers and community members.

Latrines for Lycée Tchadoua / MICA. $4,494              

            Latrines and hand washing stations will be set up for students. Training and education about the importance of hygiene and sanitation will be provided. In addition to improving health, providing better sanitation facilities also helps keep girls in school.

Well Rehabilitation Tabelot / AFAA. $4,457               

            This project will restore a well in a remote area outside Agadez serving at least 100 families. The work will consist of sealing cracks, installing a well cover and providing a solar pump system.

Empowering Women thru Clean Water / ONG Récupération des Mendiants (RECUP). $4,615

A water tower will be constructed and configured with solar-power to serve five neighbor villages. One hundred women will be trained in water resource management, hygiene, sustainable water practices in the Maradi Region, Tibiri Commune.

Adding Value to Ag Products Agadez / Tamakrast.  $4,646  

           This project will provide training to women’s cooperative members in financial management as well as processing and conservation techniques. Purchases will include a processing and conservation unit, a solar dryer, a freezer, a mill (flour) and necessary other equipment. Processing agricultural products when they are plentiful creates new markets, extends the season for sale and consumption, and it increases profits.

Tailor and Leatherwork Training / DIMA. $5,000

           This grant will provide the final nine months of training in a 27 month-long program for 60 students in tailoring and leatherworking to include instruction, equipment, supplies, and transportation. These students recruited from the city of Niamey, were largely dropouts who had few prospects. This intensive program has made them eligible to join ateliers that produce crafts of export quality where they will earn a living wage.

Nigerien party !

July 1, 2023
Greensboro NC

The Nigerien diaspora are planning a night of music, dancing and culture July 1, starting at 6 p.m. The public is invited and the cost at the door is $25 per adult, children are free.
Entertainment includes musicians coming from Niger.
For more information please call 860-995-0033

Did you know Greensboro has the largest concentration of Nigeriens living in the US? The organizers of this event frame the purpose as follows:
This event is a unique and exciting event intended to celebrate Nigerien culture and reinforce ties among Nigeriens living in the US and in Niger.  This event will help Nigeriens living in the US find each other and promote Niger in the eyes of the world.
We are aware that many Nigerien children born in the United States are gradually adopting American culture and moving away from their own culture, due to lack of exposure to the beauty , cohesion and deep history of the culture Nigerien . This event will help to strengthen this affection and attract young generations to Nigerien culture, encouraging them to learn more about their country of origin and contribute to its development.


Any FON members who would like to get together the Sunday morning after, please contact president@friendsofniger.org

A FABULOUS TIME WAS HAD BY ALL

(What follows is an informal article on the recent Peace Corps Niger reunion, written by a former English teacher who likes to indulge himself by writing about interesting things. And this was really interesting! Please pardon me for errors and omissions. Corrections and additions are welcome! –Gary Steele, Niger RPCV ‘66-’69) 

The Peace Crops Niger Reunion of August 2022 was fabulous! It was a long weekend of wonderful reminiscence, catching up, great times and memories of old times. (This was the sixth approximately quinquennial reunion in Santa Rosa since1991.)

Hats off to our incomparable hosts, Gayle and Bob Reid, who took so many extra measures to assure us a wonderful time, and they clearly succeeded. Was it the beautiful grounds and the gardens, or the patio and the terrace, or the oak grove and the architecture? The setting was superb, but the warmth of the hosts the real factor. 

At least three reasons helped make the event Covid safer: Most of the time was spent outdoors, and even indoors there was significant cross ventilation. Secondly, many of us are trained in medicine/public health and well aware of dangers. And even those of us not in health fields are up on current events and know the importance of Covid mitigation. Lastly, the vaccination and boosting rate in our age cohort is extremely high, even higher in a well-educated subset like us. 

Twenty-six RPCVs made it to the event, and many were accompanied by spouses and significant others for a total of thirty-nine. The weather was nearly perfect. Some evenings had just a bit of a chill. Daytime temps rose to the low 80s but not for long, and there was the very low humidity that the Sonoma is famous for. Above all, love was in the air, love for one another, for Niger, for myriad good causes, and for having some fun. 

Greetings in Kanouri, Housa, Djerma, and French were heard here and there. Stories about old Peace Corps experiences were shared. An example is the experience of sitting down to supper after a long day of heat and work, and then suddenly grabbing plates to run inside as a dust storm sprang up. There were endless tales of latrine woes. Many stories about snakes remain quite vivid. We heard some long-forgotten words like Petromax and Braduni. It is remarkable how much great progress Niger has made in areas such as vaccination rates, child survival, food production, literacy levels, and miles of paved roads. And then there are the ways where so much more needs to be done. 

We gave updates on what had happened to us over the years since Niger, of how our Peace Corps time had inspired us or intensified what we wanted to do in life. And it was remarkable how things we had once taken seriously now seem trivial, e.g., some college course no longer mattered as long as the grade was acceptable. 

There was near unanimity on the pitiful state of current events, at the local, state, national, and international level. There weren’t many happy stories to bring up. 

Now the food was so much better than in our Peace Corps days! It was wonderful, though the conversation was so great that at times we barely stopped to eat. We feasted on salads of many types, enjoyed barbecue and pastry, not to mention tres leches cake! The list goes on. And the two West African ladies who catered on Saturday fixed spinach and pumpkin seed stew, jollof rice, and roasted goat. Oh my! 

How about some credit to the good folks who coordinated with Gayle and Bob and did things to make this reunion such a great one?

A big shout out to Norma Hyatt who served as executive administrator and registrar supreme.

She was ably aided by Robert Porter as bouncer for all events, day and evening, to keep the group from becoming too rowdy and exceeding Sonoma County noise limits.  

Guy Immega developed a wonderful repeating photo loop with photos of our colleagues who have passed. 

This was complemented with a memorial table of additional pictures of all types that Cathy Sharp assembled. Cathy and Guy’s skill and sensitivity helped bring those who are no longer with us back in spirit.

Guy also took any number of pics at the event, casual shots of large groups, small groups, individuals, and then the group photo in front of the fragrant lavender planting. He has generously shared all this on the evite site for the event. And lest we forget, there will be those wonderful mini-interviews that were taped and will be forthcoming. 

Penni St. Hilaire assumed fiduciary responsibilities, doing her high-pressure fundraising undercover to keep our hosts from protesting. The total we all chipped in to give to Gayle and Bob was impressive, and they can do with it as they wish. Just a bit of that total was used to have a grand bouquet delivered to their home on Winter Creek Road a few days after the event. 

David and Ginger Ikeda demonstrated their wonderful talent for smuggling many kilos of a certain agricultural commodity from Hawaii to the US mainland, and it was enjoyed by all. To be specific, that agricultural commodity was chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. 

Less formally, Shelly and Jacob Leib were the probable winners for coming the greatest distance to the event — all the way from boiling, muggy South Florida to dry, cool Northern California. 

Buck McAdoo was at least a contender for the prize of most varied conversational topics. His topics spanned from sailing to mushroom foraging intemperate rainforests. 

Not to be left out is Odessa Reid, a four-footed new addition to the Reid family. This little pup, just six months old, already excels in manipulation skills, scouting around under tables for fallen morsels, and in getting her belly rubbed. She was the runaway favorite for the prize of most beautiful ears!

All are invited to submit nominations for other prizes, such as, perhaps, sampling the most California wines, or losing a cell phone most frequently, paying the most for rental car, or fumbling to find the right rental car back along the driveway under the oaks. Self-nomination is encouraged. 

All present served on subcommittees for table busing, bottle uncorking, dishwashing, beverage re-suppling, ice totting, etc. etc. We were a pretty good bunch in terms of pitching in on all sorts of duties. 

If this reunion was different, it may have been in greater sharing of grandchildren pics on cell phones. After all, some of us do have more grandchildren now. And then there were prolonged “organ recitals” among us. This type of “organ recital “was the kind that takes place when geezers get together and start describing their gallbladder operations, pacemaker insertions, etc. These recitals were supplemented by “joint recitals,” which had particular emphases on replacements of various joints. 

Several people where shamelessly exposing themselves, or at least their knees, to show the patterns of patella scars left after knee replacements. Continuing in the medical vein, many of us are no longer sporting glasses after having lens implants related to cataract operations. Oh, and there were numerous dental implants.

And as if to prove that we are not just a bunch of near-octogenarians, we showed ourselves thoroughly up-to-date. We flaunted our Wordl skills! Yep, and David Ikeda won another prize, sort of, by having Wordl-worthy first AND last names. And if there was a special waiver to allow cheating and adding proper nouns, then let’s add Sahel, Housa, Jerma, Dosso, and Niger! Great minds think alike. Often. Maybe. Sorta. Right? (If this paragraph evades you, go googleWordl!) 

The discussions of the films, books, and movies were terrific, and as a group, we have very refined tastes, as in “simply the best!” Thanks to these interests, an idea surfaced to send out a very simple monthly email, something like “Arts for the Astute of Peace Corps Niger.” It would consist of some mini-reviews of good TV shows, films, and books. The reviews would be submitted to the co-editors of the email in advance each month. 

And so the search is on for a couple co-editors who would want to implement this idea and come out with a pilot email maybe in September. Estimated time needed would be maybe three or four hours a month. Warning! This is not search for people with ideas on how this monthly email should be done. Rather it is for people who will just do it. (Co-editor candidates contactgarysteele9876@gmail.com.)

It was bittersweet as individuals and couples gradually started to drift away on Sunday, walking down the oak-lined driveway and waving goodbye. Many would agree that we had not had a weekend like this since before the pandemic. A fabulous time was had by all!

APPEL A CANDIDATURES DES SUBVENTIONS / CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Appel A Candidatures Des Subventions   Les Amis du Niger annoncent un appel à candidatures qui se terminera le 1er septembre 2022.  Grâce à nos généreux donateurs, nous sommes en mesure d’offrir de petites subventions pour soutenir les initiatives locales au Niger.  Les subventions seront accordées selon un processus d’examen concurrentiel, les demandes devant être présentées d’ici le 1er septembre.  S’il vous plaît partager cette annonce avec des amis et les parties intéressées.

EN BREF

Les Amis du Niger (FON) accordent de petites subventions pour soutenir des projets qui profitent directement au peuple nigérien.  Les subventions varient entre 500 $ et 5 000 $.  Le financement des subventions provient des dons des membres et des sympathisants de l’organisation des Amis du Niger.

Les demandes de financement doivent être reçues au plus tard le 1er septembre 2022

Nous vous invitons à consulter les renseignements mis à jour à notre site internet :  http://www.friendsofniger.org/grants/grants2022/. 

Call For Proposals Friends of Niger is announcing a Call for Applications to close September 1, 2022.  Thanks to our generous donors we are able to offer small grants to support local initiatives in Niger.  Grants will be awarded based on a competitive review process with the first cycle applications due by September 1.  Please share this announcement with friends, contacts and interested parties.

IN BRIEF

Friends of Niger (FON) awards small grants to support projects that directly benefit the people of Niger.  Grants range between $500 and $5,000.  Funding for grants comes from donations of members and supporters of the Friends of Niger organization.

Applications for funding must be received by September 1, 2022.  All eligible applications will compete for available funding, based on how well they score.

GO to:       www.friendsofniger.org/grants/grants2022

SEVEN GRANTS AWARDED JUNE 2022

Congratulations to the grantees and many thanks to the grant review team this round.

Vounteers: John Berry, Brianne Boylan, Andrew Danzig, Tom Dechert, JoAnn Lewis, Lois Rakov, Pam White, Scott Youngstedt; FON Board members: Mary Abrams, Kelsey Andersen, John Baird,  Kimberly Dixon, Alix Fedoruk, Alhassan Ali Mamadou Souna, Doug Steinberg

With their hard work we reviewed 26 project proposals!!

Seven projects were selected for a total of $27,870.  All thanks to the generous donations of Friends of Niger members.

Projects funded in June 2022

Job Skills for Young People in Niger. (DIMA) $5,000

Train 72 unemployed youth to do leatherwork and other marketable craft work. The program builds on an existing program and girls constitute more than half the trainees. NIAMEY

Inclusion sociale et économique des enfants vulnérable.  AfriYAN Niger 1,460,000 cfa

Work with 50 handicapped or otherwise vulnerable street kids to teach them to make marketable crafts made from used plastic items. Project culminates in a craft fair/exhibition of products. OUALLAM

Ma sœur, Mon Modèle. (MICA) 2,515,000 cfa

Employ 12 young women mentors who have participated in leadership training to work with 100 middle school girls to reduce early marriage, increase school attendance and overall life success. MADAOUA

Maison de la Parole. ONG GONI 2,500,000 cfa

Create an event space/center for oral tradition in a community known for this. Project will construct a stage and meeting space (hut/hangar) to support cultural and artistic events. LIBORE/NIAMEY

Soutien des Femmes d’Eladab.  ONG TAMAKRAST 2,680,000 cfa

Install a borehole and solar pump in a garden for the women’s co-op, which is already organized and active in drying and processing fruits and vegetables. AGADEZ

Dignite des Femmes Tagala Koye. Tagaz Espoir 231,000 cfa

Conduct a needs assessment to evaluate economic opportunities open to women sand carriers in order to develop future job skills programs to help them gain better employment. NIAMEY

Elementary School Maradi. AFN $5,000

Build a classroom to replace temporary shelters being used since classrooms were destroyed in a recent fire that took the lives of 34 children. MARADI

ANNOUNCING 2022 GRANT SCHEDULE / ANNONCE DU CALENDRIER DES SUBVENTIONS 2022

Friends of Niger is announcing a Call for Applications to close March 15, 2022.  Thanks to our generous donors we are able to offer small grants to support local initiatives in Niger.  Grants will be awarded in spring and fall based on a competitive review process with the first cycle applications due by March 15 and the second cycle due date of September 1.  Please share this announcement with friends, contacts and interested parties.

IN BRIEF

Friends of Niger (FON) awards small grants to support projects that directly benefit the people of Niger.  Grants range between $500 and $5,000.  Funding for grants comes from donations of members and supporters of the Friends of Niger organization.

Applications for funding must be received by MARCH 15, 2022 for the first cycle and September 1, 2022 for the second cycle.  All eligible applications will compete for available funding, based on how well they score.

PLEASE NOTE: Requests for emergency response are not being accepted at this time.

GO to:       www.friendsofniger.org/grants/grants2022

_________________

ANNONCE DU CALENDRIER DES SUBVENTIONS 2022

Les Amis du Niger annoncent un appel à candidatures qui se terminera le 15 mars 2022.  Grâce à nos généreux donateurs, nous sommes en mesure d’offrir de petites subventions pour soutenir les initiatives locales au Niger.  Les subventions seront accordées au printemps et à l’automne selon un processus d’examen concurrentiel, les demandes du premier cycle devant être présentées d’ici le 15 mars et la date d’échéance du deuxième cycle étant le 1er septembre.  S’il vous plaît partager cette annonce avec des amis et les parties intéressées.

EN BREF

Les Amis du Niger (FON) accordent de petites subventions pour soutenir des projets qui profitent directement au peuple nigérien.  Les subventions varient entre 500 $ et 5 000 $.  Le financement des subventions provient des dons des membres et des sympathisants de l’organisation des Amis du Niger.

Pour l’année 2022, les demandes de financement doivent être reçues au plus tard le 15 mars 2022 pour le premier cycle, et au plus tard le 1er septembre 2022 pour le deuxième cycle. 

Nous vous invitons à consulter les renseignements à notre site internet :  http://www.friendsofniger.org/grants/grants2022/.  Nous vous encourageons de communiquer cette information aux autres qui peuvent s’intéresser à soumettre une application pour un don de FON.

VEUILLEZ NOTER: Les demandes de secours d’urgence ne sont pas acceptées pour le moment.

RECENTLY FUNDED PROJECTS

Supplemental Training and outreach for millet miner biocontrol. cfa 1 454 000, Potentiel Terre

Based on initial outreach work, Potential Terre has revised their project to reintroduce bio-control (native wasps) for millet miner, a project initially funded by FON last year, to include more training and outreach.  Trainings are already underway and engage young women as well as young men.

Construction of a “semi-dure” classroom at the school in the village of Tchinwizni, Agadez region.  cfa2 676 500,   Assemblée des Formateurs et Animateurs des Associations (Association AFAA)

The school in the village of Tchinwizni serves more than forty students and 650 families.

This project will replace the temporary straw huts with reinforced adobe construction.  Benefits include safer and cleaner learning environment for students, less maintenance and upkeep required of parents, and reduced environmental impact of continually replacing straw/wood structures.

Landscape Restoration for Ecosystem Recovery.  $5,000, Amman Imman

At the request of villagers in Tatiste and Fak of the Northern Tahoua Region, a long term project is being launched to restore pasturelands, wetlands and forests.  FON funding will support critical baseline assessment work to identify existing conditions and guide development of alternatives for restoration.  The project, which has the potential to be an important model, will engage villagers, government agencies and other key partners.  The funding will leverage additional future investments and with that the potential for long term benefits.

October 31, 2021 Grant Deadline

October 2021 Call for Proposals

Friends of Niger is announcing a Call for Applications to close October 31, 2021.  Thanks to our generous donors we are able to offer small grants to support local initiatives in Niger.  Grants are awarded in spring and fall based on a competitive review process.

THE BASIC INFO

Friends of Niger (FON) awards small grants to support projects that directly benefit the people of Niger.  Grants range between $500 and $5,000.  Funding for grants comes from donations of members and supporters of the Friends of Niger organization.

Applications for funding must be received by OCTOBER 31, 2021.  All eligible applications will compete for available funding, based on how well they score.  The next application period is planned for spring 2022 (details to be announced).

FON gives priority to projects that:

•           Address a locally identified need

•           Are feasible and likely to be successful

•           Benefit many people.

•           Have community support and contributions

•           Have a plan to sustain the benefits into the future

•           Build local capacity and leadership 

À toute personne intéressée :

Les Amis du Niger (Friends of Niger, ou FON) est une organisation fondée par des anciens Volontaires du Corps de la Paix avec but d’initier et de promouvoir des activités portant sur le bien-être du Niger et du peuple Nigérien.  FON a élaboré un nouvel processus compétitif pour le financement de projets, et nous lançons actuellement un appel de projets.  Nous prévoyons deux cycles par an d’évaluation et d’accord de projets.  Les applications ne seront considérées que pendant ces deux périodes.

Toute application pour cet cycle actuel doit être soumise au plus tard le 31 octobre 2021.

Nous vous invitons à consulter les renseignements à notre site internet : www.friendsofniger.org/grants/grants2021   Nous vous encourageons de communiquer cette information aux autres qui peuvent s’intéresser à soumettre une application pour un don de FON.

GO to:       www.friendsofniger.org/grants/grants2021

 

Four Grants awarded

Friends of Niger is thrilled to announce funding for a new round of projects totaling approximately $16,250*.  Project selection was accomplished through our new, rigorous competitive process.  Many thanks to our “Friends of” group colleagues, including Nepal, Tanzania and Burkina, and the Portland OR RPCV group, who shared ideas and information about how they select and fund projects.  We cobbled together all the best ideas and we think our maiden voyage was a success.  We received 22 applications for funding from a variety of groups and a wide range of projects.  After sorting out 3 that did not meet basic eligibility criteria, a team of 12 volunteers reviewed and scored the remaining applications. Following lively debate and discussions, 4 applications were selected for funding.  Those that were not selected received feedback on what we liked about their proposals and how they might be more competitive next time.

Many thanks are also due to JoAnn Lewis and Alix Barstow Fedoruk who contributed lots of thoughtful, constructive input to the new process. And HIP HIP HOORAY for the review team members:  Mary Abrams, Ismaghil Ag Moussa, Steven Anderson, John Baird, Kimberly Dixon, Alix Barstow Fedoruk,  JoAnn Lewis, Dane Miller, Yari Rabiou, Cheryl Turner, Pamela White, and Amy Wilson.

*Please note $ amounts shown here reflect the amount requested in cfa and are approximated in dollars; actual amounts are dependent on exchange rates. 

PROJECTS ACCEPTED FOR FUNDING July 2021

Tchizamene Clinic Solar Batteries & Beds, Organisation Vie et Développement ~ $3,175

Organisation Vie et Développement demonstrated their cooperation in 2020 by implementing a FON small grant-funded emergency response project, providing medical supplies in the Agadez area.  This successful proposal will replace 12 year-old batteries for the solar array for the health clinic and purchase 10 beds and mattresses.  The clinic serves about 10,000 people in the Village of Tchizanmene, Commune of Dannat, Agadez Region.  There are two nurses, one midwife and her assistant at the clinic.  The batteries will improve capacity for refrigeration of essential medicines.

Bangiya Elementary School Desks, Bangiya Village Cooperative ~ $1,401

The Cooperative in the village of Bangiya near Zinder has been awarded funding to supply a new classroom with desks.  This project follows the successful implementation of a classroom construction project previously funded directly by individual members of FON in December 2020.  FON Board member Yari RABIOU has already delivered the funds for this project and visited the site while he was visiting in country in July 2021.  The grant will fund the purchase of 30 table-benches for the Bangiya elementary school.  (A video will be uploaded soon).

Sécurisation contre la chenille mineuse de l’épi du mil. Potentiel Terre ~ $4,855

Potentiel Terre will implement a program to breed and reintroduce an indigenous wasp that attacks millet boring insects.  The program will also provide training so that it can carry into the future with local people producing and distributing the wasps.  As many as 20,000 households hope to benefit from a reduction of crop loss in the commune of Mokko.

Vocational Training for School Dropouts, Incarcerated and Unemployed Youth. Centre de Formation des Artisans de Maradi ~ $5,000

The Centre de Formation des Artisans de Maradi is working with prison officials to provide youth training in various vocational programs.  A 13-month program will be delivered for up to 20 participants for approximately $350 each.  Training will include literacy, technical writing, basic accounting and entrepreneurship to the trainees.

In other project news –

A $10,000 grant to Kirker Foundation/Niger last year helped cover costs for ground transportation and delivery for a significant shipment of medical supplies.  As with previous shipments, the medicines and supplies were selected in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health to ensure they are used appropriately throughout Niger’s health care system, greatly expanding the capacity to meet the needs during the pandemic.  A video of the shipment being received in Zinder can be viewed at https://youtu.be/PkIlrYKbRxY

Horticultural center to open in Libore 2022

The Dov Center will train horticultural technicians to support agricultural cooperatives across Niger, increasing food and economic security for 50,000 farmers, their families and communities over 5 years. Tom & Patsy Lightbown, Niger 1965-67 invite you to join them in helping to furnish classrooms, cafeteria and dormitories.

Read more about the center DOV Center.