World Vision Niger Provides Education for Children to Achieve Their Dreams

Thursday, October 22, 2015

For years World Vision Niger’s education programme has contributed to improve learning conditions and outcomes of school children in the communities where it works. To achieve this the organisation works at the local level with parents, teachers and communities associations to ensure children who complete primary school are equipped with necessary skills for life.

“My name is Abdoulaye Hama. I’m a 21-year-old student and native of Tampiana village (Tera Area Development Programme). I’m a student in the teacher training college at Tillabery region and I will be in my second year of training soon thanks to World Vision."

"I’m really enjoying my course, because of the quality of teaching at the college. In the past there wasn’t a school in my village. Students had to go to school at Diaguru, a village 15 kilometers away, and stay with relatives who lived there until Wednesday afternoon to return back home," says Abdoulaye, looking and pointing out at the direction of the school.

”In years 2 and 3, I study in classrooms made out of straw. It wasn’t easy, because of the weather conditions. We used to be exposed to cold, heat and wind all the time. Consequently, many students drop out before sitting their secondary school entrance exam."

The study conditions in Abdoulaye’s village were very difficult in the past, he recalls. ”In years 2 and 3, I study in classrooms made out of straw. It wasn’t easy, because of the weather conditions. We used to be exposed to cold, heat and wind all the time. Consequently, many students drop out before sitting their secondary school entrance exam. But in year 4 (in 2007) we began to study in a modern school blocks built by World Vision. I can remember that we all felt that it was more comfortable than the old classrooms we had before. In the new ones, heat, wind and cold was a thing of the past and for me the school was just 30 meters from my house. I really enjoyed studying in the new facilities."

World Vision didn’t limited its interventions in building new classrooms for children.

In Abdoulaye's village, World Vision didn’t limited its interventions in building new classrooms for children. An education awareness raising campaign was carried out in the community for parents to enroll their children. It was even made a requirement for registration in the organization's sponsorship programme. In addition, children also benefited from school materials like, books, pens, pencils and mathematical kits, clothes and mosquitoes nets. The school also benefited from adequate teaching materials and teacher trainings on a regularly basis.

“I was among the first 50 students studying in the village school and I’m now the first student getting his high school entrance diploma. And you know what? I will be the first civil servant of the village, thanks to World Vision,” Abdoulaye says proudly.

“At college my favorite subject is science and the technique of water purification (technique of cleaning unsafe water) in particularly"

“At college my favorite subject is science and the technique of water purification (technique of cleaning unsafe water) in particular," he says. "I thank my teachers for the knowledge they give me and World Vision for their support. My dream is to be a pedagogical adviser (a professional who advises teachers on how to improve the quality of teaching) and later on, an school inspector, a person whose job is to visit schools to check that rules are being obeyed and standards are acceptable. If I'm able to dream today, it is because I had a chance to study in the proper conditions. Today I help my 10 year old sister to revise her lessons and do homework. I thank World Vision and may God bless and help them fulfill their mission.”

I can't wait for my older brother to become a teacher in our village because I know that he will be the best teacher the village can have.

“My big brother helps me to revise my lessons and do homework during school holidays or when he comes home from college," says Zardaou, Abdoulaye's younger sister. "He helps me to review several school subjects; science, geography, mathematics and grammar four times a week. Thanks to him I’m one of the best students in my class now. He taught me how to prepare for lessons and do my homework so well that in his absence I manage to do it without any difficulty. I can't wait for my older brother to become a teacher in our village because I know that he will be the best teacher the village can have. When I grow up I want to be a teacher as well."

For years World Vision Niger’s education programme has contributed to improve learning conditions and outcomes of school children in the communities where it works. To achieve this the organisation works at the local level with parents, teachers and communities associations to ensure children who completed primary school are equipped with necessary skills for life.

In 2014, World Vision Niger's education programme directly benefited 97,419 children (49,127 girls and 48,292 boys) and trained 2,659 teachers on teaching methodologies and skills such as reading, mathematics and elaboration of lesson plans.