Sponsoring students and education
Our main priority lies in the renovation and construction of new wells. But our actions don’t stop there: we are also committed to satisfying requests put forward directly by families in the Tidène Valley. The future of a people depends on the education of its children today
Here, schools are scarce and studies are expensive. By the end of 2020, we have helped build 8 schools across our various intervention zones. We sponsor older students who need to continue their education in Agadez, Niamey or in the sub-region for their chosen specializations.
As a principle for education and schooling, successful primary schooling means children can move on to secondary school.
Only certain private high schools make it possible to study in decent conditions.
Thanks to your participation, we can make this level of education possible. We monitor our “protégés”, meeting their teachers every quarter and keeping up with their progress.
The conditions for obtaining a sponsorship are precise and strict. The student and their family must be fully motivated and committed, to ensure both attendance and respectable results.
School principals from the city of Agadez often send us recommendations for students with good results, but who cannot financially afford to study at private schools. So, in concert with these school principals, we decided to reach out to you for help.
For secondary school students, each academic year costs approximately € 200 to 300 (US$ 240 to 360) for middle school and high school, respectively. These costs are divided between enrollment, school transport, and purchasing books, uniforms, and sportswear.
Each “sponsor family” is in direct contact with their “sponsee” who will regularly send letters, photos, and school reports.
To date, more than 60 children and students have already been sponsored, 15 of whom are now in higher education.
There are 2 ways you can help:
- Support us by sponsoring students (your donation is tax-deductible up to 66%).
- Support us by co-financing the schools themselves.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please get in touch at:
LAGO SCHOOL,
an Example of Success
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Gone are the days of the small thatched classroom in Wharatakalt, which was too often subjected to sandstorms and where the children had no benches, tables, or canteen. It now sets the standard for all schools in the Valley thanks to everyone’s collective efforts.
Here is the school in 2006: nothing but a straw hut with children sitting on the ground to study.
Today, the school is truly a benchmark thanks to its solar panels, its water borehole, a well to supply the garden, and its dormitory accommodating more than 20 children with showers and toilets.
We have also built 2 sani-stations, each comprising 3 showers, 3 sinks, and 3 toilets.
An outside tap provides access to water for the inhabitants of the surrounding camps. The Wharatakalt School is now one of the most functional and one of the best equipped.
BUILDING SCHOOLS
Nearby wells mean that children no longer need to walk for hours to fetch water and can focus on going to school.
Our First School: Lago School. Following the success of the Lago School and faced with growing demand from parents, we worked tirelessly to build several other schools:
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Toubouheit School
InIn 2014, our partner KSB financed the construction of a brick-and-mortar classroom to replace the dilapidated thatched classroom in the village of Toubouheit. Children can now concentrate on their studies, sheltered from the weather. School enrollment rates have since massively increased.
Boudari School
We were in charge of renovating this school, which was actually the first in the Tidène Valley (1995).
Mano Dayak, a remarkably charismatic former Tuareg chief originally from the Valley, was responsible for its original construction. It is now in perfect condition and helps 90 children to learn in the best possible environment.
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Egarwey School
In this area, around 200 families are scattered throughout the Valley. They once depended on pastoralism and tourism for a living. However, in recent years, a succession of political tensions and droughts have brought a halt to these activities.
In 2018, we built a brick-and-mortar classroom to ensure that teachers and students alike could enjoy school, safe regardless of the forecast. Latrines were also built outside the school to improve sanitary conditions.
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Yoga School
We were able to build the Yoga School thanks to funding provided by the Annecy Rotary Club. Up and running in time for the start of the 2020 school year, it is located in the middle of the desert and provides schooling for around 40 children, thus contributing to the development of this landlocked area.
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Maïguachi School
Funded by our partner Mont Roucous, since the start of the 2020 school year, this school has hosted some 40 children from rural areas in and around Maïguachi who, until now, had not received a formal education.
Abaka School
With funding from the French Hauts-de-France region, the Artois Picardie water company, and EDF, a solar energy access project is underway and the school has already been built. Once its solar panels are fully installed and functional, it will be considered a flagship school.
Intawagre School
Intawagré is located in the middle of the Ténéré Desert. It is completely isolated, as no roads pass through it. The only means of transport are camels or donkeys.
Approximately 50 families permanently populate this camp. They have to live on less than € 1 (US$ 1.20) a day. A few inhabitants have 1 or 2 camels, which produce milk 4 months a year.
Their nearest source of clean water is 25 km away.
To save children from having to fetch water and to facilitate their schooling, we have built a well as well as a brick-and-mortar school to ensure they have access to an education. Their teacher was also provided with accommodation, to motivate them to stay on teaching in the middle of the desert.​​
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L’école de Baroukazat
Le fond AAU (Agnès et André Ulman) a permis la construction de l’école de Baroukazat. Les 31 élèves ont ainsi fait leur rentrée 2022 dans un bâtiment en dur pour leur plus grande joie en lieu et place d’une paillotte qui devait être reconstruite chaque année.
L’école de Gadambo
Sur financement de Mont Roucous, une école en dur a pu voir le jour à Gadambo.
Là où il n’y avait qu’une simple paillotte faite de nattes de feuilles de palmier se dresse aujourd’hui un bâtiment neuf et sécurisé, protégeant les 55 élèves des aléas climatiques (vents de sable, canicule, pluie).
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L’école d’Amataltal
Un co-financement avec une amie franco-nigérienne nous a permis de construire une école à Amataltal. Il n’y avait jusqu’alors qu’une simple paillotte.
Fin 2022, ce sont ainsi 11 écoles et 19 classes que nous avons pu construire dans la zone.
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L’école de Seloufiet
Située à côté d’Iférouane dans le nord de l’Aïr, cette école accueille 115 élèves dans cinq classes différentes. De 2007 à 2022, elle a été aidée par l’association Alpes-Aïr N’Mitaf, (aujourd’hui dissoute), qui a construit plusieurs bâtiments en architecture voutée sans bois. Cette école en pleine expansion a besoin de financements pour la cantine et l’entretien des bâtiments.Elle est maintenant gérée par notre association et nous veillerons à son bon fonctionnement.
