Water for Education on #GivingTuesday!
Dear Friend of the Azawak,
I am so grateful for you as a supporter, follower, and friend. Thank you!! I wish you a blessed holiday season filled with peace and joy.
As you know, Amman Imman is currently building the “Water is Education” borehole in Niger. Please consider donating to help us finalize construction by January, so that water may flow permanently this new year.
Click for our #GivingTuesday donation page
For the past year and a half, I have had the great pleasure to share adventures with the men, women and children from the communities that will enjoy the gift of this water. Following are a few profiles of these amazing people.
Souri
Souri drinks crystalline water from the borehole during the pumping trials after having filled up her jerry cans.
Souri has spent the past many years traveling regularly to Nigeria to make ends meet as a house maid, sometimes risking threats such as banditry and sexual assault. She hopes to be on the borehole management team, and use the water to grow a garden. She is excited to participate in Amman Imman’s upcoming agroforestry watershed restoration project.
Elfi and Ila
Elfi and Ila wash during the pumping trials while their animals drink from pools of water that have formed nearby.
Elfi and Ila have been chosen to care for their family’s animals, thereby enabling a few of their brothers and sisters to attend school. These children have a deep knowledge of Saharan plants and animals. They have even developed a special language which allows them to communicate with their cows, sheep, and donkeys. While it is likely too late for these boys to go to school, the borehole will provide children that once might have been dedicated solely to caring for animals time to obtain an education.
Houlaye
Houlaye is often the household “mommy” when her parents travel to Nigeria to earn a living. Between fetching water for hours a day and household chores, she has little time for school. Ilghimiss, the school teacher, has taken the plight of girls like her to heart, and offers special evening classes to help them learn the basics. Thanks to the borehole, she will have a great deal more time to attend school.
Houlaye refreshes herself in the pool that has formed during the pumping trials.
Della
Della was thrilled to present me to her little brother Youssoufa last I visited. Her mother Fati has been suffering from severe anemia, a common ailment that debilitates many women after childbirth. Our Amman Imman nurses provided iron supplements and also treated Della's skin fungus. After the borehole is finished, Amman Imman’s mobile health clinic will operate on a permanent basis in the community to offer more regular access health care and education.
Della with her mother, Fati and little brother, Youssoufa, being treated by Amman Imman's nurse, Hachime.
I hope to share many more stories of my friends. I also hope to write you soon with the joyous news that we have completed the “Water is Education” borehole. Again, I would be delighted if you might consider helping us make this a rapid reality. To contribute, please go here:
Gratefully,
Ariane
