June 2004
Friends
of Niger Helps Fund
Summer Leadership Academy
for Young Girls in Niamey
New FON Partner ORUWOCA
Plans to Launch Program in August
with Help from Friends of Niger
Friends
of Niger President Jim Schneider
announced that the FON Board of Directors recently took the decision
to fund a new initiative in partnership with the Organization for the Relief
of Underprivileged Women and Children in Africa (ORUWOCA).
ORUWOCA,
founded and led by Nigerienne Mireille Gbetholancy, is a relatively new NGO,
headquartered in Washington, DC The Summer Leadership Academy is the organization's
first initiative in Niger and is a clear expression of one of ORUWOCA's goals
- to empower girls and women through effective education programs (leadership
and literacy academy for young girls and women's health education) and microcredit
management programs (small loans for rural women).
The Summer Leadership Academy for girls will be held in Niamey in the 2nd half
of August. The academy model was designed by ORUWOCA member Dr. Hassana Alidou,
Associate Professor of International Teacher Education Program, Graduate School
of Education, Alliant International University, San Diego, California, a gender
and development specialist. The academy seeks to assist poor young girls to
develop social and leadership abilities and to enhance their academic abilities.
The focus of the 4-week program will be on the development of critical awareness
about basic health issues such as prevention of malaria, STD and HIV/AIDS; and
the preparation of participants for the end of primary education exam by enhancing
their ability for critical thinking, mathematical problem solving and literacy.
Participants in the program will be drawn from Niamey's poorest neighborhoods
with the help of primary school personnel, les chefs de quartiers and neighborhood
Women’s Associations, local griots and local radio.
ORUWOCA and FON hope to expand the program into rural areas and other urban
centers in the coming year.
Financial contributions to this and similar initiatives can be made by sending
a check or money order, payable to Friends of Niger to Youth Education
c/o FON, PO Box 33164, Washington, DC, 20033-0164.
FON
& NPCA
Meet in Chicago this August
Plan to Attend the Combination
Reunion/Conference: August 6-8, 2004
The Late July Update
Plans have now begun to firm up for FON
events in Chicago next month. Check the schedule
below again in another week. There will be more information on more FON
events.
Friday - August 6 - FON Social & Dinner
- 6:30 PM
Join FON members, Niger RPCVs and Nigeriens at the Ethiopian
Diamond Restaurant, 6120 North Broadway, Chicago for a great evening. Other
'Friends' groups will be there as well, including Friends of Ethiopia &
Eritrea and Friends of Mali. The Diamond is near the Granville stop on the
Chicago transit Red Line (about 30 minutes from downtown) and is reputedly
the best African restaurant in Chicago. We'll gather from 6:30, eat at 7:30
and stay for the music and dancing.
The buffet dinner costs $20 (taxes & tip included). The buffet
will include doro wett (chicken stew), ciga tibs (fried beef), another meat
dish, two or three vegetable dishes, salad, and injera (Ethiopian bread)
and soft drinks. The Diamond also features various African beers, Tej (Ethiopian
Honey Wine) and great desserts. We need a reasonably accurate head count
for Sisay Abebe, our contact at the Diamond. Please, please contact Jim
Schneider and tell him that you'll be attending.
Saturday - August 7 - Niger/FON Exchange
- 3 PM
Not a meeting in the usual sense, but an opportunity to gather and have
an exchange on FON activities and initiatives as well as to share
photos and other souvenirs of Niger. We are arranging to have the FON
Archives exhibit on hand as well as FON T-Shirts and the FON
video Brother from Niger. The gathering will be held at one of DePaul
University's downtown campus buildings on Jackson Blvd between State and
Wabash, just 2 blocks from the Palmer House (the NPCA conference hotel).
Exact location TBA - check back at this site for an update.
Saturday, August 7 - FON Social Event - 7 PM
'Friends' will be gathering from7 Pm at Bar Louie West Loop located
at 123 N Halsted Street, blocks from the conference hotel. The Louie has
a varied menu, a good selection of libations, and a casual ambiance.
Several joint FON/NPCA events are also scheduled.
For details regarding these events click
here and scroll down the page to the listings for Niger.
For information regarding other happenings at the NPCA conference
go here.
***
In his June 10, 1963
speech at American University, President Kennedy said:
"What kind of
peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons
of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking
about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living,
the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better
life for their children -- not merely peace for Americans but peace for all
men and women -- not merely peace in our time but peace for all time."
Brother
from Niger Goes DVD
Brother from Niger, the 42-minute
video which focuses on FON's microcredit initiatives and which was produced
by Whalesong Productions of Halifax, Nova Scotia, will soon be released in DVD
format. Friends of Niger plans to make the DVD version available
for purchase at the same price and on the same basis as the VHS version.
FON
Announces Another
Trip to Niger:
Planning Begins for Early 2005
The FON Board of Directors has
taken the decision to begin the planning required for a second Friends of Niger
trip to Niger. The first trip took place in October 2002.
According to FON President, Jim
Schneider, "tentative plans envision the 2005 trip taking place early in
the year - January or February."
Schneider also indicated that
the 2005 trip will include many of the same features as the highly successful
2002 event, "with, perhaps, a little more emphasis on participation in
service activities or work projects."
Anyone with an interest or questions
related to participation in the trip is encouraged to contact Jim
Schneider
Micro
Niger
- How You Can Help -
Contributions to our ongoing support for microcredit
in Niger should be made payable to Friends of Niger and sent to: Micro
Niger c/o FON, P.O. Box 33164, Washington, DC, 20033-0164 or sent along
with the Friends
of Niger 2003 Membership & Order Form .
Vitamin
Campaign
- How You Can Help -
Donations to FON’s ongoing vitamin campaign
should be made payable to Friends of Niger and sent to Vitamins,
c/o FON, PO Box 33164, Washington, DC, 20033-0164 or sent along with the
Friends
of Niger 2003 Membership & Order Form
Video
Production that Features FON
Available for Purchase in DVD & VHS
The 42 minute documentary on Niger, originally
produced for Canadian TV and shot in Niger in January 2002, is now available
for purchase from Friends of Niger in both DVD and VHS formats.
From the blurb of the video's jacket - "In
a 'Brother from Niger', award winning journalist Andrew Younger brings
a story of courage, hope, and struggle from one of the world's poorest countries.
' Brother from Niger' follows Friends of Niger president Jim
Schneider as he returns to a country he once called home, a country that's
still as poor as when he left it.
The video was shot on location in Niamey, Maradi,
Matamaye, Botsotsoua, Kantche and Zinder and includes interviews with Haoua
Diatta of the Oxcart Project as well as with Schneider, representatives of
FON's Nigerien partner organizations and others.
Copies of the videotape may be purchased for
$20 each (2 for $35). Use the FON
2004 Membership & Order Form or send a check or money
order, made payable to Friends of Niger , to Video, c/o FON, PO
Box 33164, Washington, DC, 20033-0164.
“Serve, serve, serve. That's
the challenge. For in the end it will be the servants that save us all.”
- Sargent Shriver .
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You’re
Gonna Love This T-Shirt
Available
in 4 Sizes
- S, M, L, XL
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Makes a Great Gift!!
It’ll
Look Good on You as Well!!
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Introducing
- Friends of Niger T-Shirts...
You’re gonna love
this T-Shirt!!
Based
on a design originally created by our neighbors at Friends of Burkina
Faso, FON had produced its first and very own T-shirt.
The short-sleeved shirts are 100% cotton, pre-shrunk beefy-T, natural
muslin-colored fabric. The design (above) is four color: brown, black
and the orange and green of the flag of Niger. You’ll notice a nifty
proximity map of Niger within the map of Africa which appears in the
branches of the baobab tree. The shirts are available in Small, Medium,
Large and Extra Large sizes and sell for $18 each, shipping included.
Use the FON
2004 Membership & Order Form or send a check
made out to Friends of Niger (indicating the number of shirts
by size), along with your name and address to: Shirts. c/o
Friends of Niger, P.O. Box 33164, Washington, D.C., 20033-0164.
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Credits
and Other Information
The Camel Express is the periodical
newsletter of Friends of Niger (FON).
FON can be contacted via the post at P.O. Box 33164, Washington,
D.C., 20033-0164;
by email at lorenz3@ca.inter.net; and you will find FON on the
web at the following Internet address - www.friendsofniger.org.
This edition of The Camel Express was
prepared, produced and distributed by Sue & Don Bracken, Irma Poots Sarata,
Judd Lyon, Gabriella Maertens, John Soloninka, Larry Koff and Penni St. Hilaire.
Please send address changes and corrections, as well as any queries to The
Camel Express at
any of the addresses above.
FRIENDS
OF NIGER
2004 MEMBERSHIP & ORDER FORM
