THE AGADEZ LEARNING CENTER
Opening the door to higher education for nomadic students with support from Lelia & John Lamson
Lelia and John Lamson have been a part of RAIN ever since Bess Palmisciano first visited Niger in 2000 - in fact, they were her hosts for the fateful trip that would plant the first seeds. John is a former U.S. Embassy officer and Lee served on our Board of Directors for several years. As Niger residents, Lee and John experienced firsthand the immense challenges faced by the country as well as the equally immense potential of Niger's people.
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ALC Students
Fatima & Assalama
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The Lamsons have donated $10,000 to support the Agadez Learning Center. In addition to providing a supportive place to live and study, RAIN awards scholarships to outstanding students from remote nomadic communities that offer no option for education beyond grammar school. Costs average $1,000 per year per student for scholarships, room, board, tutoring and mentoring. With their generous gift, the Lamsons are providing 10 students with an opportunity beyond their dreams. Says Lee: "We've long admired RAIN's creative and cost effective approach to supporting primary schools with School Market Gardens. So, we were excited with the opening of the Learning Center, where nomadic students can further pursue their education. We can't think of a more meaningful way to put our donation dollars to work than to help provide an educated future for the youth of Niger." We're honored to continue putting their passion into action for nomadic students!
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One Day's Wages & RAIN Bring Learning & Earning
to Seiga & Ingui in Tillaberi, Niger
After major droughts and loss of livestock, the women and children of Seiga and Ingui scramble to find enough food and water to keep hunger at bay as schools languish.
One Day's Wages, a web-based grassroots movement encouraging us all to give one day's wages to those with less, has chosen to partner with RAIN to change that. Together, we are bringing mentors to at-risk girls, funding savings and loans groups for women, helping artisans sell their goods, and ensuring that hundreds of nomadic children stay learning in school with the installation of two school market gardens.
These activities are not random or unrelated, but are part of a circle of integrated programs designed with our nomadic partners to generate incomes and give girls access to education -- Learning & Earning groups.
We are less than $3,000 away from reaching our goal to receive a matching grant of $25,000! Visit One Day's Wages online to learn more about this innovative organization and our partnership for Seiga & Ingui.
One Day's Wages inspires people around the world to donate their "one day's wages" to alleviate extreme global poverty. www.onedayswages.org
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The women of Seiga pick local grasses to create beautiful 3' lengths of decorated woven straw that are used as walls for Tuareg nomadic homes called irhens. You can see a straw irhen behind them. The basket and decorative wheel are also results of their skilled craftwork. With funds raised and matched by One Day's Wages, we can help these women apply their skills to create products that RAIN can sell for them to western markets.
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MAY 31
Save the Date
2014 Annual Event
Live music, auction & screening of "Behind the Blue Veil"
The Star Theatre  Kittery ME
5-9pm
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the subject "Behind the Veil." Winner to be announced in May.
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RAIN PROUDLY RECOGNIZES
FRIENDS OF NIGER
FOR THEIR SUPPORT OF
MENTORING IN FIVE
AGADEZ COMMUNITIES.
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SECURITY IN NIGER
Over the past year, the media has given much attention to the Sahel region of West Africa -- conflict in Mali, continuing disruption emanating from Libya, the Boko Haram group in Nigeria. On March 3rd, founder Bess Palmisciano attended the first meeting of the Sahel Strategy Forum at the Endowment for Democracy in Washington, DC. Among the featured speakers was the Niger Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Mohamed Bazoum.
In a nutshell, all panelists acknowledged Niger's peaceful peoples as well as the country's leadership role in uniting its West African neighbors in the fight against terrorism. RAIN will continue to be a part of the dialogue and of the strategy to maintain peace in Niger through sustainable development.
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Rain for the Sahel & Sahara forges partnerships
with underserved rural and nomadic desert
peoples of West Africa to realize their ambitions
for education and enduring livelihoods.
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