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

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

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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.

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