Rain for the Sahel and Sahara

RAIN Events

Dolan-Bath — Tue, 15 May 2018 13:38:17 +0000

Treat yourself to a good meal for a good cause!

Robert’s Maine Grill is partnering with RAIN. Enjoy a delicious meal, the evenings' proceeds will support education and opportunity in Niger.

For only $16, they offer a three-course menu of Maine Comfort Food with an updated twist.Their regular menu is also available.

Tuesday, December 10th or 17th
from 5pm - 9pm

Robert's Maine Grill

326 Route 1

Kittery, Maine 03904

Can't make it? Want to donate still? Click the donate button below and options will appear when you click
on "one time payment".

If you have questions, please give us a call (603) 371-0676 or email us at freya@rain4sahara.org.

Filed under: Annual Event

Annual Appeal 2017

Dolan-Bath — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 15:18:17 +0000

Filed under: Niger

Auction for a Cause

Dolan-Bath — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 18:01:20 +0000

Rain for the Sahel and Sahara (RAIN) is auctioning off a number of unique items to support our partner communities in Niger. Join us in making this festive time of year special for at-risk women and girls in Niger. By bidding you are giving opportunities to empower and create enduring livelihoods, through education.

Don’t hibernate this winter, be an advocate of change!

Check o ut our featured Items and support education today!

Our auction is just in time for the holidays! Give a little joy this season, by giving to a great cause. The auction ends December 31^st, so mark your calendars and check them twice. Please feel free to share this email with friends and family, the more the merrier.

Thank you for your continued support and happy bidding!

Sincerely,

Bess Palmisciano

Rain for the Sahel and Sahara

www.rain4sahara.org

Phone: 603.371.0676

Filed under: Niger

Give the Gift of Education This Giving Tuesday!

Dolan-Bath — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 13:28:40 +0000

This #Giving Tuesday give a student like Naoudi the gift of education. RAIN has a matching grant of $50,000! Double your impact this Giving Tuesday! You have the ability to help at-risk girls receive an education. Each donation is a gift worth giving. This Tuesday don't miss this chance to make a huge meaningful impact!

“At the Center, I like the electric light that makes everything clear as if it is day; the availability of water to the pump without long walks, and no loss of time to draw water; after-school courses are taught by teachers who have mastered their subjects. RAIN’s staff make available for us everything needed to make our lives pleasant at the center and to allow us to succeed in our schooling.” -Naoudi.

Make a contribution today

Filed under:

Rough Roads of Niger

Dolan-Bath — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 19:03:42 +0000

In the Sahel and Sahara first there are dirt roads and quickly there are no roads. It may surprise you, but everyone still knows their way around. If it be by land marker, an odd shaped rock or the only tree for twenty miles. They can find their way. The sand swallows up the tracks and if you don’t have four wheel-drive –you’re out of luck. The Sahel and Sahara can be unforgiving reaching temperatures upwards of 113 Fahrenheit. There are still those that eke out a living, but it becomes increasingly more difficult as the desert claims more farmable land for its own.

The Tuareg also known as the blue people for the dye they create stains their skin, live in the desert bush. They have been herders, traders, nomads and protectors of the desert for thousands of years. Their traditional way of life is under threat. The desert, the same thing that the Tuareg have protected for a thousand years is rebelling against them, stealing land unchallenged. With unpredictable rains causing floods or extreme drought the prospects of handing off their way of life to their children is drying up. Many have invested in their children’s education to give them options they never had.

To continue passed primary school however is still a challenge for many as the secondary schools are very far from the bush and are in high demand. People walk for miles to get water, to go to school and gather fire wood. Their culture is rich with diversity and fascinating customs. When married, a women is built a home and given livestock in case she is widowed or divorced. Drinking tea is a staple and they warm it on hot coals and pour it into tiny shot glasses. Tea time is quite frequent. There is always hard work to be done. Most people can only bring four buckets of water back a day atop their heads. It can be painful work, but necessary. Water is essential to the everyday lives of Nigeriens especially to the Tuareg and Wodaabe.

A man crawls out of a hand dug well as they dig deeper to capture the little water that is in the ground. There supposedly is a large amount of water trapped underground, but no one has found of a way to access it. Despite the fruitless efforts to find more water, there is still some to be had. People live on what they can find and survive the best they can. They used to travel across the desert in caravans 10,000 strong bringing back salts, spices, silks and more, but the world has changed. They must adapt and partner with organizations like RAIN so that they will endure the hardships to come. We both are reaching towards sustainable for their contiuned livelihood.

Filed under: Niger

Making a Difference

Dolan-Bath — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 16:20:34 +0000

YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE

It's Annual Appeal time, when we count on your generosity to keep our mentors and girls learning and earning, to feed families with women's gardens. If you've already donated we humbly thank you. If you haven't there is still time! Please donate today - online or by sending your check

What Did RAIN Accomplish This Year?

At the primary school level 145 mentors are helping 450 girls and 125 at-risk boys to attend school and succeed there - we need to add 30 mentors this year so that 150 more girls can thrive in primary and middle schools.

There are 220 women in 3 garden cooperatives with wells that are growing crops organically, learning about vitamins and cooking with nutritious vegetables.

Fifteen communities continue to have access to water with RAIN wells - water that also improves food security through garden irrigation.

Savings and Loan groups are the next step to financial independence for mentors and other women in our partner communities. We chose the S&L model over micro finance because we feel it's imperative that members invest their own funds. Once trained, mentors will not only run their own S&L groups, some will go on to become community trainers.

Filed under: Niger

Making a Difference

Dolan-Bath — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 16:06:57 +0000

You Make a Difference

What Did RAIN Accomplish This Year?

At the primary school level 145 mentors are helping 450 girls and 125 at-risk boys to attend school and succeed there - we need to add 30 mentors this year so that 150 more girls can thrive in primary and middle schools.
There are 220 women in 3 garden cooperatives with wells that are growing crops organically, learning about vitamins and cooking with nutritious vegetables.
Fifteen communities continue to have access to water with RAIN wells - water that also improves food security through garden irrigation.
Savings and Loan groups are the next step to financial independence for mentors and other women in our partner communities. We chose the S&L model over micro finance because we feel it's imperative that members invest their own funds. Once trained, mentors will not only run their own S&L groups, some will go on to become community trainers.

Filed under: Niger

Annual Appeal

Dolan-Bath — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 14:58:14 +0000

In 2016, we focused on bringing livelihoods to our mentors. Now, each woman receives a monthly stipend of $8.50 from RAIN. With Savings & Loan Groups and goat herds the women will earn more than the stipend. They will be empowered to continue their mentoring program through the years with no investment from RAIN except providing advice as needed.

At the primary school level 145 mentors are helping 450 girls and 125 at-risk boys to attend 23 village schools and succeed there – we need to add 30 mentors in 2017 year to enable 150 more girls to thrive in primary school – and go beyond to secondary school;

There are 25 scholarship students at the Agadez Learning Center, who with RAIN housing, meals, tutoring and mentoring support have access to secondary education that is beyond reach for rural and nomadic students;

There are 220 women in 3 garden cooperatives growing crops organically, learning about vitamins and cooking with nutritious vegetables;

Fifteen communities continue to have access to water with RAIN wells – water that also improves food security through garden irrigation.

Savings & Loan groups are the next step to financial independence for mentors and other women in our partner communities. Once trained, women will not only run their own S&L groups, some will go on to become community trainers.

Please donate today – online or by sending your check or donating online. You may choose to sponsor a student at the Agadez Learning Center or donate any amount and let us choose the program that needs it most. It is your donation that will make this progress possible.

Filed under: Agadez Learning Center

Thank You To Our Friends And Sponsors

Dolan-Bath — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 14:30:41 +0000

A special thanks to our event committee Dudley Dudley, Susan Bennett and Lee Lamson, as well as our many volunteers. RAIN gives many thanks Mae Bradshaw, Burt Dibble and the Exeter Rotary Club volunteers who were vital to our event setup after the storm. Thank you to our sponsors: Betsy Wilczek, Bob's Clam Hut, DF Richard Energy, F.L. Putnam Investment Management Company, Frank Wilczek, Janet Prince, John Lamson, Lee Irons, Lelia Lamson, Mary Hulings Rice, Peter Bergh, and Tony Irons, Robert's Maine Grill. Some of you supported in person, others in spirit, but united we came together to make a difference in providing education and opportunity to women and girls in our desert country of Niger.

Filed under: Annual Event

2016 Annual Event: "A Little Decadence Here, For Sustenance There"

Dolan-Bath — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 19:43:48 +0000

RAIN is celebrating 15 years of learning and earning with “A Little Decadence Here, For Sustenance There.” Join us on Monday July 18, 5:30 pm at Oyster River Farm, Durham, NH. Click here for information and reservations.

Exclusive Silent Auction Trips!!

Tickets to Hamilton! On Broadway.

Tickets to Savannah, Georgia for the weekend.

Newport Food and Wine Festival at the Newport mansions, September 23 – 25, 2016.

Oumara Moctar “Bombino,” a Tuareg guitarist and singer who, along with the Bombino Group, is famous internationally. Bambino, a native of Niger, will play solo acoustic guitar pieces that are reminiscent of his desert home.

Desserts & Champagne with Chef James Haller, acclaimed founder of Portsmouth’s Blue Strawbery Restaurant and author of several cookbooks, including “Cooking in the Shaker Spirit,” “What to Eat When You Don’t Feel Like Eating,” and his recent memoir. “Salt & Pepper Cooking.”

A virtual trip to Agadez, Niger with New Castle, NH resident Leonard Seagren…

View AuctionTrips:

https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/auctionhome.action?vhost=rain4sahara

A special thank you to our sponsors, without whom, none of this would be possible. Also thank you to everyone who donated items and treasures to our event.

Joan and Frank Graf

Lee and John Lamson

Mary Hulings Rice

Filed under: Girls Education

Irma Turtle

Dolan-Bath — Wed, 18 May 2016 13:19:10 +0000

In Loving Memory of Agadez Learning Center benefactor, Irma Turtle

For over 25 years Irma Turtle served people less fortunate than she. Irma was a loving person and believed in the heart, the spirit and the mind. Her favorite quote was from Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see.” Irma certainly did that through her organization, TurtleWill, in Niger, Mali and Ethiopia. Her artisan soul gave her creativity to come up with ideas to help others.

Irma fell ill in 2013 and was facing the possibility of the discontinuation of the programs in West Africa that meant so much to her. She was particularly concerned about her dormitory programs in Agadez and Tchirozirene, Niger. There, students who graduated with good grades from remote primary schools where no secondary schools were available were offered secure lodging and scholarships secondary schools.

When Rain for the Sahel and Sahara (RAIN) agreed to take on these programs, including the children from both sites in the Agadez center, Irma was thrilled and TurtleWill gifted the Agadez dormitory to RAIN. TurtleWill closed in 2013 and Irma wrote in a final newsletter:

“In Niger the torch has just completed passing to Bess Palmisciano of Rain for the Sahel and the Sahara. Bess has been working in Niger since 2000 with nomadic and rural peoples to improve their lives through education, water security, agriculture and income-producing activities. She’s just like me in her non-stop dedication, and is a real “coup” for TurtleWill.”

All of us at RAIN, and especially the students and staff at the program that we now call the Agadez Learning Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders (ALC) are deeply grateful to Irma for her generosity. We continually strive to live up to her expectations and have expanded the ALC to include a girls’ mentor program, traditional craft skills, peer-to-peer tutoring and leadership training in many forms. Our students, though coming from inferior rural schools, are exceeding their peers in Agadez. They go on, with support from RAIN, to enter teaching, nursing and agriculture programs. We are committed to seeing those with the ability and determination to continue through university. Any donations in memory of Irma Turtle will be dedicated to the Agadez Learning Center.

Irma’s recently published memoir, Nomads I Have Known and Loved: A Thirty-Year Journey into the Cultures, Customs, Homes and Hearts of Africa's Tribal Peoples is a wonderful review of her work and friendships.

Click Here to Donate in Irma's Memory - secure.e2rm.com/registrant/donate.aspx

Filed under:

RAIN gives Nomadic Girls of Niger Access to High School

Bonnie — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 18:03:05 +0000

Niger is a country where the literacy rate is 15% among rural and nomadic people. Children have very little access to education. Many villages don’t have a middle school. Many families struggle just to send their child to elementary school. Even fewer get a higher education or make it passed high school. Rain’s Agadez Learning Center gives the opportunity of secondary education to motivated nomadic children of the surrounding area. The Agadez Learning Center is a safe, friendly and educational orientated program.

“If I was not at the center I would have a lot of other work to do. I would prepare my own meals to eat. There would not be enough water, no light, no meat, no bed, no cooks, etc. My father would have to buy food so that I could study. Even to study I would have to use a kerosene lamp to learn. Truly there are many difficult things. I would have to buy things for school like pens, the uniform, and notebooks. There would also be no tutoring. Finally, there would be no fans or projector.” – Student Dafada Maidaji

The alternatives to the ALC are bleak or non-existent. Most students would have to leave their villages and be given money by their parents, burdening their families still further. At these middle schools like the one in Ingal, thirty-five kids are stuffed into one room and are given few books or supplies. They have to find their own food and pay for school supplies, which is a challenge.

At the ALC the students want to become everything from builders to doctors. All the students come in with the purpose of helping their community. It is truly inspiring to witness these students push against the odds that are placed in front of them. Many of students use this opportunity to the best of their ability taking advantage of afterschool classes and the ability to study during the night.

Really I am happy with RAIN’s center because they give me a bed, a mattress, a sheet, a blanket, and a mosquito net. There is also afterschool tutoring, the school uniform and school supplies. Every Sunday we have lamb meat and there is a cook that prepares meals for us and a guard that watches the center. – Student Maoude Elhadji Bello.

By donating you are changing young girls’ and women’s lives. Your continued support allows those from impoverished areas to come together for a better chance, full of opportunities. Make a child smile today and change her life forever.

You can give by clicking the “donate now” button on the home page or visit us at Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NigerNomads/.

Filed under: Girls Education

Welcome to New ALC Students

Bonnie — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 15:52:48 +0000

The Agadez Learning Center (ALC) provides a place for 25 nomadic students to live, study and pursue their dreams of an education. the primary school graduates have no hopes to continue their studies as rural education does not go past grade 6.

In October, the ALC Director, Alhassene Aboubacar, too an arduous 10-day journey in the Air Mountains to recruit students for this years 7th grade class. He told communities about the unique opportunity the center offers to continue to secondary education. Alhassene introduces himself and RAIN to the village chief, who calls a meeting for all the parents to attend. Alhassene discusses the rules and requirements of the ALC andALC Girls: Naoudi & Mariama are ALC students offers a chance for the parents and students to ask questions. He passionately believes that “during the village meeting it is very important that each participant can express his or her opinion.” Listening carefully to the community members ensures that we select students who are committed to their studies, and whose parents understand the benefits offered by the ALC. The selected students begin 7th grade with the educational support that can take them all the way through college.

Filed under: Agadez Learning Center

Update from our Mentors: Educators as Mothers

Bonnie — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 15:25:24 +0000

Your donations are doing more than changing lives; they are changing opinions about the importance of a girl’s education. One of the biggest challenges our mentors face is convincing parents -- most of whom have never been to school -- of the importance of education, and that attending school is beneficial for both the child and the family.

I meet with parents to explain my work to them and convince them to allow me to work with their children. For some parents, it is only after many conversations about the importance of education that they come to understand my role in the community. Mentor Zeinabou Djibo

Your continued support has allowed this unique program to thrive. In addition to supporting students and teaching them about hygiene, health, and nutrition; mentors pass on traditional artisan skills such as weaving, basket making, and pottery; preserving a culture that is thousands of years old. Mentors also speak to entire communities about the benefits of education, which earns mentors respect and gives them a voice within their communities that they use to reach far beyond classroom walls.

I raise awareness on different themes with my students’ parents, my neighbors and my friends. If we take the example of young girls, I try to raise awareness by saying that no one should give girls who are in elementary school off to marry. These girls have not even reached the age of puberty yet. I also speak with the young men to encourage them not to marry young girls. One example I give is that if a girl that is too young to be married [then] marries a boy, as soon as she becomes pregnant she will have difficulty giving birth. A young girl’s body cannot support a pregnancy or giving birth. Mentor Addajhjat Anasbagor

Right now is one of the most exciting times of year for our mentors, who are meeting with their students and preparing them for the start of the school year. They are also looking for new students to replace last year’s graduates, giving precedence to especially vulnerable girls who would most benefit from the program. Thank you for helping mentors fulfill their mission of bringing education to rural and nomadic children living in extreme poverty in Niger today.

This program is really thinking about mothers as educators. When a mother becomes a mentor to other children, we show that we are mothers for all of the children that we look after… Us mothers work together. -Assolo Sidi

Filed under:

West Africa Day in Portsmouth 8.19

Fri, 10 Jul 2015 21:13:03 +0000

Join us for a Special Reception

from the sahara desert to the piscataqua

For one day - August 19 - The City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, The Portsmouth Athenaeum and Rain for the Sahel and Sahara will host distinguished representatives from Niger:

His Majesty the Sultan de L'Air Oumarou Bin Ibrahim Oumarou and
Her Excellency Professor Hassana Alidou, Niger Ambassador to the U.S.

with a special reception to commemmorate the Fourth Annual West Africa Day in Portsmouth.

Mayor Robert Lister will present an Official Proclamation followed by discussions of regional culture, current events and the designation of Agadez as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sultan Oumarou is the 127th Sultan of the vast northern Air Massif region of desert and mountains - centered in Agadez - long the hub of nomadic desert culture. The only Sultan still in residence at the original Agadez palace, he is among the last of the five great Tuareg monarchs to serve in the modern era. Considered the ultimate traditional authority, Sultan Oumarou is active in resolving community disputes and allocating land rights.

Ambassador Hassana Alidou - a former student of RAIN Board member and Boston University Emeritus Associate Professor of African Languages and Linguistics John Hutchison - will give a presentation, as will Cynthia Becker, an Associate Professor of African Art also with Boston University.

Admission is free but space is limited - reservations strongly recommended.
Click here to reserve.

August 19 5:50 - 7:30
The Portsmouth Athenaeum
9 Market Square Portsmouth NH

Private post-reception dinner with guests of honor: $100pp.
Call 603.371.0676 to reserve.

With special thanks to the Portsmouth Athenaeum

Filed under: Niger

From New Castle to Niger with Leonard Seagren

Fri, 05 Jun 2015 16:45:59 +0000

RESERVE TICKETS

Join retired pilot and RAIN supporter Leonard Seagren on a journey that would bring him together with nomadic teens of the West African desert and their dream for an education.

Hosted by: Nancy Borden & Lou Salome

Sunday June 21 5:30 - 7:30pm
The Hart House
61 Walbach Street New Castle NH

$45pp includes beer, wine and light buffet supper. Space is limited.

Learn more about the Agadez Learning Center.

Filed under: Niger

$2K Matched for Mentoring on GlobalGiving

Thu, 21 May 2015 19:46:56 +0000

Wow, we're bowled over by your response to our matching Bonus Day for mentoring on GlobalGiving.org on May 13th - over $2,000 was raised to support at-risk nomadic schoolgirls with local women mentors at their sides....an ebullient THANK YOU to all who answered the call!

You can still support mentoring in a unique way - by empowering the women who volunteer with Savings & Loans Groups! RAIN has less than two months to reach our goal of $1,000 on our GlobalGiving.org project page. It's easy to make an impact:

$200 creates a seed fund for a group of 20 or more nomadic women to build their futures with.
Just $40 can start a new small enterprise.
Just $20 can purchase food and medicine for the family of a mentor.

"I am so happy that we have the saved and earned money from our group. It has really helped with all of our needs, including naming ceremonies and weddings, medicine, sauce ingredients and even costs for our children who are in school.” - Mentor Hawa Almoustapha

Enjoy this video about the women of the Ekasen Tumouhoutar S&L of Iferouane, then join their circle by adding your contribution to the virtual Nescafe Coffee Can!

Filed under: Girls Education

Celebrate Mother's Day with a special gift

Fri, 01 May 2015 19:43:54 +0000

May 10th is coming up...honor the women in your life with a piece of wearable art or a tribute donation!

Click Here

Filed under:

RAIN Volunteer Runs for Niger

Mon, 13 Apr 2015 20:28:42 +0000

Volunteer Susana Castillo Rodriguez is running The Maine Coast Marathon May 10th for RAIN! Visit her page on Crowdrise if you'd like to sponsor her. Go, Susana!

"I believe that small actions can have a big impact on other people’s lives. I am training to run the Maine Coast Marathon with an incredible gang of girlfriend runners. We believe in the power of persistence, endurance and reciprocal help to achieve our goals. Please join me to raise awareness support the work that Rain for the Sahel and Sahara (RAIN) does in Niger. Your contribution is essential in fulfilling West African nomadic people’s ambitions for education and enduring livelihoods. Tanamert!" - Susana Castillo Rodriguez

About the Maine Coast Marathon
The Maine Coast Marathon began in 1980 as the Nike Maine Coast Marathon. It was organized and produced by the Marathon Sports Runners Club. The race sold-out several years with 1,000 runners. In 1983, the race was amazing as it produced the fastest marathon time ever run in Maine and had three runners qualify for the US Olympic Marathon Trials. Roland Davide of Rhode Island finished the race that year in 2:15:13. This still holds the record for Maine’s fastest marathon.

Filed under:

"Berber Women's Art in Northwest Africa" with Cynthia Becker Friday 3.27

Wed, 11 Mar 2015 14:50:16 +0000

Friday March 27th
newington nh

Up next in our Dinner & Discovery: West Africa Salon Series - "Berber Women's Art in Northwest Africa" with Cynthia Becker on Friday 3.27! A scholar specializing in the arts of the Imazighen (Berbers), Cynthia will explore the role of women in the arts and culture of Niger's Touareg. Jewelry and hand crafted items from Niger will be available for sale.
Ticket includes beer, wine, a delicious dinner & talk.

Hosted by Lee Lamson.
Reserve tickets in advance at: berberartswestafrica.eventbrite.com

6-8pm. $45pp
Reservations strongly recommended - space is limited.
All proceeds support RAIN's programs in Niger.

Filed under: Niger

Update from Bess in Agadez

Thu, 26 Feb 2015 17:14:51 +0000

Greetings from Agadez!

With apologies to New England friends, the weather here has been pleasant, and Brian and I have been working 24/7 as I enter my third week here, enjoying the sense of progress. I wanted to share a bit of what we've been up to with you - our friends and supporters.

We're grateful to Jack Teeters, Mrs. Johnson and the Hurlbut-Johnson Trusts for our new Agadez Learning Center kitchen (above). It will be completed in a few days and is a giant step up from the outdoor kitchen that made good hygiene practices a challenge. The windows have shutters with the cross of Agadez on them. Inside there is a long counter, where three meals a day will be provided to the students, who will come up to the open windows to serve themselves from family style platters of food. We've installed a septic system behind the kitchen, which separates the ground water to be diverted to the garden for irrigation.

In order to reach our goal to increase the number of female students at the center, and provide them with more privacy, The Rotary Club of Portsmouth has provided a grant of $5,000 to enlarge the existing girls’ dormitory space. We've made a plan and budget with the local architect who built the kitchen. In addition to doubling the size of the space, the doorway will be relocated so that passers by will not have a view of the rooms. The door opens into a study space. The other ¾ of the building is sleeping space. We've discovered the electrical wiring is not strong enough and is not grounded. As we work on the buildings we are bringing it up to standards in several areas, postponing the porch construction to next year.

A supporter has offered support to provide solar power at the center. We’ve chosen to construct a computer lab, as the students receive no computer training at school. Solar power is important, as electricity is unreliable, especially in the hot season – April, May and June. We hope the new computer lab will be up and running for the next school year.

Presently, we have 25 girls and boys - Tuareg and Wodaabe from the Air Massif and Azawak areas. The new students have never been to Agadez, or any city, for that matter. They are shy but getting along well. One student expressed in her interview: "The city is so close, there's no air to breathe." Another student slips away often to spend time with camels at the local market. Brian has purchased a film projector for the well-loved documentary screenings he hosts nearly every evening for the students. He's also been busy interviewing them about their lives, daily experiences and hopes for the future. Here, I'd like to once again express thanks to John and Lee Lamson and Friends of Niger for their continuing scholarship support for several students.

As I listen to an ice cream truck amble down the road outside of the RAIN office playing "Jingle Bells," I'm reminded that my time here is running short and I'll soon be back in my winter coat and scarf - desert sand traded for sky high snow banks.

A bientot,
Bess

Filed under: Agadez Learning Center

2014 In Review

Mon, 29 Dec 2014 16:14:18 +0000

Together, we changed the lives of 4,000 people in Niger this year.

slated for 2015

Expansion of the Agadez Learning Center so more nomadic students can succeed in secondary school
Savings & Loan groups bringing financial opportunity to women
Women's community gardens, increasing food security for rural families
Expansion of School Market Gardens
140 mentors guiding 700 at-risk girls through primary school

We're halfway to our Annual Appeal campaign goal of $30,000 - we can get there with your help.

Look back with us at all we've accomplished this year - then take action to make even more possible in 2015 with a donation.

Thank you for all you do to create new possibilities for nomadic women & girls.

Happy New Year from all of us and your many friends in Niger!

Filed under: Agadez Learning Center

Holiday Giving Guide

Marsha — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 19:15:43 +0000

Two ways to celebrate the spirit of sharing this season

Gifts that Mean More: Show your love with wearable art from our Nomadic Marketplace
Make a Tribute Donation: Double your impact when your monthly donation is matched!

Visit our holiday giving guide!

Filed under:

Celebrate the Season of Sharing

Tue, 02 Dec 2014 18:36:44 +0000

n/a

Filed under: Artisan Cooperatives

November ENews is out!

Fri, 14 Nov 2014 20:44:12 +0000

ALC students dance their way into our hearts & new leather handbags arrive from Agadez!

Click here to read November ENews

Filed under: Artisan Cooperatives

Celebrate Int'l Day for Rural Women & the Day of the Girl

Thu, 09 Oct 2014 17:19:42 +0000

“I would like to be Prime Minister or work for an NGO. I want to help the people in my village and my family and fight against terrible diseases.”  - Faji Hamid

In Niger, girls rarely progress to the 4th grade and 1 in 3 is married before the age of 15.

Investing in a girl's future is investing in the world's future. Girls that stay in school delay marriage, have fewer children and earn higher incomes.

Education is the only way for Niger's children to break free of the cycle of poverty.   School is a monumental commitment for desert nomadic kids and their families. Going to class means they aren’t able to help their parents forge a living in the dusty pastureland south of the Sahara. Despite the sacrifices, this fall will find these girls back school with smiles on their faces. Somehow, they know it’s worth it. They know that each additional year in school brings them closer to a better life: More options. Skills to share back home. Better health. Greater independence. The possibility to be one of the lucky few in Niger to go on to middle school, high school, or even college.

It doesn’t take much to make these dreams of education a reality:

$10 Provides a mentor with a monthly stipend
$20 Buys materials for practical skills training.
$40 Provides a girl with a year of skills training.
$80 Provides a starter goat for a mentor to generate income

 A good education, like rain, is scarce here — especially for girls. But now it’s possible. Because of friends like you, a new future is in reach for these desert children of hardship and hope.

On October 10th, the world recognizes the importance of education and opportunity for girls in celebration of International Day of the Girl. On October 15th, the world salutes the role of rural women for International Day of Rural Women. On the 15th, you can help keep girls in school and honor the women mentors who got them there with a donation to our mentoring project on GlobalGiving.org boosted by a 30% match.

Visit our mentoring program on GlobalGiving

Be sure to donate on October 15th, then spread the word!

Filed under: Girls Education

Back to School in Niger: Let's Make it Happen!

Fri, 22 Aug 2014 15:31:48 +0000

As September approaches, children throughout the world are getting ready to return to school - but few are as excited to return as the students we work with - children who call the most remote regions of Niger their home.

School is a monumental commitment for desert nomadic kids and their families. Going to class means they aren’t able to help their parents forge a living in the dry and dusty pastureland south of the Sahara. It means mothers will have to haul water for cooking and cleaning from distant wells on their own. In some instances, it means children will have to walk for miles, unsupervised, to reach the adobe or reed-walled building where classes are held. For one group of rural middle school students, it means spending the academic year miles from home - the song of the desert wind traded for the noise of the city at our Agadez Learning Center.

Despite the sacrifices, this September will find this group of boys and girls attending school with smiles on their faces. Somehow, they know it’s worth it. Many share a deep commitment to education with their parents, who may never have gone to school and want a better life for their kids. They have support from RAIN mentors, specially trained educational champions who help kids stay in school despite the odds. They know that each additional year in school brings them closer to a better life: More options. Skills to share back home. Better health. Greater independence.

Please donate to our Back to School campaign and give these motivated kids the resources they need to pursue their dream of an education. For $2,000 ($200/month) a child of the desert can benefit from a full school year at the secondary level - an opportunity that would not exist without the Learning Center. The commitment is already there. Their families and communities are behind them. Your gift will make a direct positive impact on their future, that of their families, that of their children, and, ultimately, on Niger as a whole.

Our mission is to forge partnerships with underserved rural and nomadic desert peoples of Niger, and help them realize their ambitions for education and enduring livelihoods. Your generous support allows us to actively recruit children from remote villages who would otherwise have no access to formal education. Your support gives girls the chance to be the first ever in their community to graduate from elementary school. Your gift enables Niger’s motivated learners to join the 10% of girls and 15% of boys from the entire country who make it to secondary school. Without your help, the prospect of middle school - or beyond - is only a dream.

Niger’s kids want to go back to school next month. Few have the option. A new generation of learners determined to overcome poverty and hunger with education thanks you for believing in them!

Support the journey back to school for nomadic students today.

Filed under: Agadez Learning Center

Sponsor West Africa Music Fest

Marsha — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 01:30:53 +0000

Help Create Portsmouth History

The City of Portsmouth's Third Annual West Africa Day will be held at the Redhook Brewery on 21 September (Click here for map of 1 Redhook Way, Int'l Pease Tradeport).

Celebrate the sounds of the African Diaspora with Randy Armstrong & Beyond Borders, Federator No. 1, the Seacoast West African Dance & Drum Group and Akwaaba Ensemble!

RAIN works with nomadic and semi-pastoral people in Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world. For more than a decade, we have helped schools, gardens, and entire communities flourish throughout Niger’s dusty countryside. 100% of the funds raised at the festival will go towards that work.

Click here to become a Sponsor!

Luckily, in Niger a little bit goes a long way:

$50 provides books for 30 students.
$200 supports two schoolgirls and their mentors for a year.
$2500 funds the creation of a women's co-op business.

We will have a dedicated sponsor table at the event, and our promotional campaign will be run through our website, social media, e-blasts, print and radio.

RAIN is a 501(c)3 non-profit and contributions are tax deductible.

Filed under: West African Music

Mentors Work with Schoolgirls to Change Niger's Future

Fri, 13 Jun 2014 15:14:30 +0000

As new schools open in rural and marginalized areas of Niger, a gap is forming between unschooled adults and educated young people. Parents who worked their whole lives are wondering why their children are exhausted after a day at school: “You have been sitting in a chair all day. Why are you so tired?” Some parents find it especially difficult to understand the value of education for girls when there are so many chores to do at home, like pulling water from the well, pounding grain, and collecting firewood for cooking.

Women mentors from rural areas sponsor young girls, serving as a liaison between the school staff and parents, advocating for the girls’ education, and teaching them practical skills in semi-formal workshops. The workshops enable mentors and their students to revisit key concepts learned at school using their mother tongue, and to supplement the informal learning that goes on in everyday village life with practical skills. The acquisition of practical skills is important because it helps the community see that supporting education is not a contradiction to their culture.

Secco mat tents: The nomadic village Ouro Jelgoobe, where tents are made of 'secco' mats

RAIN mentor Fatimata lives in Ouro Jelgoobe (or ‘Home of the Jelgoobe’), a part of the Nassile region of Niger where the famously nomadic Jelgoobe Fulani are located. Fatimata spends time with her students in a novel way: she accompanies them into the countryside in search of a particular kind of thick grass. Fatimata is a master crafter of ‘secco’ mats: long mats which make the nomadic dome tents, which the Jelgoobe Fulani live in, easy to disassemble and reassemble as families move with their cows in search of pastureland. She will teach her girls every part of the craft, from the collection of the thick grass to the final stages of production. At the same time, as they talk about school and other issues, Fatimata will serve as an informal counselor and ally, and they will form an important bond of trust.

Having mentors like Fatimata bond with girls over familiar tasks while encouraging their studies is wholly unique. Normally girls would accomplish these sorts of chores accompanied by family members, with discussions revolving around gossip or small talk rather than education - for a comparison, think of what you talk about when you go food shopping with someone.

By helping to champion girls’ dreams of education and offering support for schools that comes from within the community, RAIN mentors are making a lasting and positive difference to Niger’s future.

Filed under: Girls Education

Dining for Women Newest Partner to Bring LEGS to Agadez

Thu, 05 Jun 2014 19:17:05 +0000

Learning & Earning Groups (LEGS) entail an array of programs working together to empower girls and women through education and new livelihoods. RAIN is excited to announce a new two-year partnership with Dining For Women to bring LEGS to five nomadic communities in the Agadez region.

Goals of LEGS programs:

Teaching local women the advantages of education, later marriage, smaller families, hygiene and gender roles so they may effectively counsel and advocate for at-risk girls.
Offering girls traditional skills classes that enhance the attraction of school for parents and offer the students possible future incomes.
Increase the number of girls attending school each year.
Initiate Savings and Loan groups and goat herding programs for mentors to both support their mentoring activities and support their families through improved livelihoods.

Click here to learn more about the project.

ABOUT DINING FOR WOMEN

Dining for Women engages thousands of women worldwide to come together in mutual learning and support of programs that elevate girls and women. Their grassroots approach encompasses a comprehensive education component to raise knowledge and awareness. Visit www.diningforwomen.org.

Filed under: Girls Education

Rain for the Sahel and Sahara

RAIN Events

Annual Appeal 2017

Auction for a Cause

Give the Gift of Education This Giving Tuesday!

Rough Roads of Niger

Making a Difference

YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Making a Difference

Annual Appeal

Thank You To Our Friends And Sponsors

2016 Annual Event: "A Little Decadence Here, For Sustenance There"

View AuctionTrips:

Irma Turtle

RAIN gives Nomadic Girls of Niger Access to High School

Welcome to New ALC Students

Update from our Mentors: Educators as Mothers

West Africa Day in Portsmouth 8.19

Join us for a Special Reception

from the sahara desert to the piscataqua

August 19 5:50 - 7:30 The Portsmouth Athenaeum 9 Market Square Portsmouth NH

With special thanks to the Portsmouth Athenaeum

From New Castle to Niger with Leonard Seagren

Sunday June 21 5:30 - 7:30pm The Hart House 61 Walbach Street New Castle NH

$2K Matched for Mentoring on GlobalGiving

Celebrate Mother's Day with a special gift

RAIN Volunteer Runs for Niger

"Berber Women's Art in Northwest Africa" with Cynthia Becker Friday 3.27

Friday March 27th newington nh

Update from Bess in Agadez

2014 In Review

Together, we changed the lives of 4,000 people in Niger this year.

slated for 2015

Holiday Giving Guide

Two ways to celebrate the spirit of sharing this season

Visit our holiday giving guide!

Celebrate the Season of Sharing

November ENews is out!

Celebrate Int'l Day for Rural Women & the Day of the Girl

Back to School in Niger: Let's Make it Happen!

Sponsor West Africa Music Fest

Help Create Portsmouth History

Mentors Work with Schoolgirls to Change Niger's Future

Dining for Women Newest Partner to Bring LEGS to Agadez

ABOUT DINING FOR WOMEN

August 19 5:50 - 7:30
The Portsmouth Athenaeum
9 Market Square Portsmouth NH

Sunday June 21 5:30 - 7:30pm
The Hart House
61 Walbach Street New Castle NH

Friday March 27th
newington nh