Youtube Clips

Tim- For the letter exchange I was going to e-mail a letter to your kids and photos of my kids. The photos will not send. This is the letter to the kids below. If you could proofread it that would be great. It was written in the middle of our Christmas party and on a bus taxi when I wrote it. It is not my best work. If you have questions give me a call. I am so glad this is going!

Sam, This stuff is awesome. My kids and yours will learn a lot from this. I'll get working on things from my end. I'll email electronic copies of my students' final products as well as send them in the mail. That way you may get plenty of time to prep lessons before my kids' letters arrive. You'll also be able to print things (if you have access).

Also, would you like brief textbooks to help kids learn English as well as the letters about my students' lives? I'm not sure what kinds of learning tools your students have. It's another project I've begun thinking of. I could have my students put together PowerPoint printouts that tell stories or have themes with simple English (going to the store, daily tasks, a day at school, hanging out with friends, etc.). I could have 4-5 groups of students per class put together different books with different themes. Let me know the language level and we can include pictures (Black and white). It would be a great project for my kids and would provide a lot of cultural learning for both our groups of students.

Do you mind if I show pictures of you from your Facebook page? I'll show other content to give them some background knowledge as well.

By the way, all kids think I'm badass until I tell them my sister is working for 27 straight months in Africa and got WTF tattooed inside her lip. YouTube Clips:

10:38: Niger food Crisis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV24nT29KHY

2:40 Niger Military Coup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0U_5tk6trY&feature=channel

4:10 Living on the Edge http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHmEp3RlbVI&feature=related

5:06 Photo Gallery of Niger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL75yiLn3hI&feature=related To the Students of Wheat Ridge High: Hello from Niger! As I am sure my brother has told you I am a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) in Niger, West Africa. Peace Corps is a U.S. governmental agency founded in 1961 to help aid the development of countries around the world. It is the actualization of a campaign promise of President John F. Kennedy to expand recent college graduates’ knowledge of the world as well as help countries in need. Peace Corps has served in 139 countries and has 8,655 current volunteers. The three goals of Peace Corps are to provide interested countries with trained and experienced individuals, to increase the understanding and knowledge of America abroad, and to increase the understanding in Americans about other countries. Every PCV all around the world is assigned a post in a specific country in several sectors of development. Peace Corps focuses on health, education, environmental and agriculture, business, and municipal development. PCVs serve for 27 months; three months of training and two years of service. PCVs are volunteers and are not paid. They are given enough money to live safely at the level of the people they are serving. When I swore in September 23, it was said that as PCVs we no longer belong just for ourselves, but also for the people of Niger. Peace Corps Niger is one of the oldest Peace Corps programs-- since 1962. Peace Corps Niger has around 100 volunteers in five sectors; health, education, environment and agriculture, and municipal development. Niger is a West African country north of Nigeria, east of Chad, and west of Burkina Faso. It is about twice the size of Texas. It has 15,306,252 people. It is one of the poorest countries in the world with an annual GDP per capita of $228. The majority of Nigeriens are farmers. The main crops are millet, sorghum, and peanuts. There are eight regions in Niger. Regions are comparable to states with regional level government and services. Niger is considered part of the Sahel of Africa. The rains come May thru September. October to March is dry and cool season with temperatures dropping as low as 50 degrees Fahrenheit. April and May is the dreaded hot season. There are several ethnic groups in Niger. The two largest ethnic groups in Niger are Hausa and Zarma. Hausa people live in the west of Niger and the north of Nigeria. My town is Hausa. I live in Gazaoua in the Maradi region of Niger. This will be my home the next two years. My town is around 10,000 people. Like most Nigeriens the main employment is agriculture. I work in the education sector. I help to facilitate projects and help to improve the Nigerien education system. I do not teach because Peace Corps does not want to be seen as taking Nigeriens’ jobs. The Nigerien education system is based on the French education system; it is a leftover from colonization. Primary school is six years. Then there is college, then Lycee. College is four years and Lycee is three years. Currently there is a major aid project between the World Bank and UNICEF to expand the effectiveness and number of primary schools in Niger. School is only required thru primary school. Even with the requirement less than 50% of the primary aged children are in school. There is much less aid at the college and lycee so the secondary schools are few and far between. The Centre Education Secondary (CES) in Gazaoua is both a college and Lycee. It is the first year for the Lycee in Gazaoua, so there is only one year of students in Lycee. This is the group of students who wrote the letters. Last year this group of students took the B.E.P.C. and are able to move onto Lycee. In reading their letters there are many things to keep in mind. First of all, English is their third or fourth language. The level of English is not very high. In the letters I was trying to get the ideas across and not focus on grammar and structure. The level of English will differ greatly from letter to letter because some took more advantage of the help I offered with the letters, had a letter exchange with previous volunteers, and have differing levels of English. Also there was a great deal of copying of each other’s ideas and sentences. It really affected the flow of the letters, but I did not stop them because the purpose of the exchange is to describe life for teenagers in Niger and if it was the copied sentence or idea was true I let them keep it. Also, in many of the letters they will directly ask for money or books. Asking for money and gifts of family and friends is part of the culture in Niger. Their economy is not as developed as the American economy. It is dependent on foreign aid (gifts) and the re-distribution of gifts between friends and family. Everyone asks everyone for money in Niger; most relationships even marriages are based are money and gift exchange. Do not feel guilty or obligated. Additionally, they are under the impression that Lycee is the same thing as elementary school in the States. Some letters will say that they are in elementary school, but they are all the Nigerien equivalent of high school. It was a miscommunication between myself and them.

When I introduced the letter to the students I asked them to include their names, their age, their grade level, and their average day. For the average day I asked what types of things they did and with whom they spent their time. I also asked to write about the best part and their least favorite part of the day. With those questions I was attempting to give an idea what their everyday lives are like. This did not work out was well as I hoped. Almost all the letters discuss school as the positive and working in the fields as a negative. I did not push for other ideas because I did not want to challenge their opinions. And as I have said before if the thought was true for their life I let it go. Then some other letters they choose their best day ever. For example, a student wrote about the fete du Ramadan which is nothing like their average. Since the letters are a bit rough I am writing something for each student to help clarify points. Even though some accepted my help and input more than others, I made sure that every letter had some different and unique elements. Due to the copying among students what I write for some students is applicable for others. At the end of the letters I also encouraged the asking of questions In no particular order

Questions to Answer:

1) What is life like in America?

2) Are Americans nice?

3) Who are the people in power in America?

4) What are the rights of Americans?

5) What are the rights of women in America? 6) What is education like in America?

7) What are the activities and culture in America?

8) Can an African marry an American?

Students (18)

1) Larwana Haruna- For his typical day he talked about taking the B.E.P.C. This is the exam at the end of college. It is a national standardized test. To continue in school they need to pass. The B.E.P.C is level necessary for many jobs in Niger. For example, to teach at the primary level passing the B.E.P.C is all that is needed. The closest comparison is S.A.T, it is not like C.S.A.P.

2) Moussa Garba Mamane-Towards the end of the time I was helping them they really started to understand that they could ask any questions that they wanted. The questions written on his letter are actually the combined effort of 3 or 4 students. Since he was rushed the questions are really difficult to read so I am going to type them out. What is life like in America? Are Americans nice? Who are the people in power in America? What are the rights of Americans? What are the rights of women in America? What is education like in America? What are the activities and culture in America? Can an African marry an American?

3) Maman Ilinah -His letter included mention of a friend dying as the response to” What is the least favorite part of your day?” Please do not be freaked out by this. For Nigeriens friends and family dying is much more common than in America. Almost every Nigerien family has lost child or family member. 259 out of 1,000 children die before the age of 5. Sadly for Niger death is more common and much closer reality than it is in the States.

4) Maman Nafiou Souley-This is the only student that wrote completely without my help. To gauge their level of English his letter would be the closest to reality.

5) Chaibou Ousman Girdji-His letter mentions praying and doing ablations. Niger is 98% Muslim country. Muslims pray 5 times a day as part of the Five Pillars of Islam. The five pillars of Islam are: 1)Accepting Allah as the one and only true God 2)Fasting during Ramadan 3) Doing a pilgrimage to Mecca 4)Prying five times daily 5) Giving at least 2.5% of your possessions and earnings to charity. Ablations are a ritual that must be completed before praying to cleanse one’s body.

6) Bassinou Macouba Mali- He mentioned PUSN. It is their student government. There is a lot of participation in the student government. Most kids are involved in the management of their school.

7) Mamane Sani Illa Souley- He accepted the most help from me and took time out side of class to work with me. He wrote about Tabaski. Tabaski is 70 days after the end of Ramadan to honor Abraham’s sacrifice of his child. On Tabaski anyone who can afford to kills a ram(male sheep). As part of Tabaski he talks about “Barka de Salla.” This is gift giving on the holiday. The animals are killed in the morning then children go around town asking for “Barka de Salla.” They are given gifts and money.

8) Rabi Salissou Kanta- She has been to the states to visit family members. There is large Hausa population in New York.

9) Ouzeirou Idi-In Nigerien culture greeting people is very important. Everyone greets everyone on the street. Passing someone without acknowledging them is very rude. Nigeriens are very involved in everyone’s lives. Even in a town of 10,000 there is a level of familiarity among everyone. Strangers and visitors are very noticeable.

10) Almaustapha Illo Aldbo- His letter discusses that school is very much something that they like to do. Going to school is better than working in the fields and it is very much a social opportunity as well.

11) Nahamane Nainiga Aissa-She is the only student that does not like school, but she sees the value in it.

12) Hanatou Mati Mahaman-She is the only girl in the class that is not from Gazaoua. She lives with her uncle and he helps her attend school. The majority of towns in Niger do not have secondary school so to attend secondary school they have to have a relative or someone to stay within a town with a school. It is very rare for a child from a smaller town to go secondary and even rarer for a girl. 13) Ouman Soumaila Yahaya- His letter talks about the difference between Niger and Nigeria. Niger is to the north and colonized by the French. Nigeria is on the coast and colonized by the English.

14) Issa Chahe- Like Mamane Sani Illa Souley he talks about a Muslim holiday. The fete de Ramadan is the party after the month of fasting. The main difference in the activities between Ramadan and Tabaski is there are no sheep at Tabaski.

15) Rabe Isska Bawa- He wrote about the regional capital of Maradi. Each region has a capital. The capital is the biggest city and the center of all business. People travel to their regional capital quite often because it is the only place amenities can be found.

16) Aicha Souley Daourda- Her letter talks about helping her mother do housework. For Nigerien girls they are expected to do 2 to 3 hours of housework a day. Girls as young 12 cook the meal for their entire family as well as take full responsibility for younger siblings.

17) Amina Ibrahim Lassan- This student has done a letter exchange before with America she had this letter from before and used it to write her letter. She had probably the best English. She also asked questions about wealth and houses in America.

18) Aboubacar Sadik Maman- He is 21. Due to the issues with education, the economy, and Niger in general students take a lot longer to get through school than in the states. If the family can afford it their children will repeat until they make it.

19) Nafissa Mamane Rachid- She has been to the zoo in Niamey. The zoo in Niamey is also the cultural center for Niger. It is a major point of pride for Nigeriens