unicef niger: the omarou family's story

Schools for Africa Niger

The Omarou family’s storyEDUCATION IN EMERGENCIES

2 UNICEF Niger

Niger faces enormous challenges. This vast, landlocked state on the edge ofthe Sahara is among the poorest countries in the world: almost 60% of thecountry’s 17million people live below the poverty line. In recent years, a host of factors has made life even more difficult for

many in Niger. With just 12 per cent arable land, high levels of populationgrowth, low levels of education and little economic diversification, there ismassive pressure on the country’s available resources. This pressure,compounded by recurrent drought, has led to severe deforestation anddesertification, fueling frequent food crises and contributing to the floodsthat now routinely occur in the rainy season.In the pages that follow, you will meet the Omarou family. Settled on

marginal land alongside the Niger River in Niger’s capital, Niamey, theywere among 8,000 families displaced from their homes when the heavilysilted river shifted course in late 2012 causing widespread flooding. Severalmonths later, they were moved to their new home on the outskirts ofNiamey, at a place called Seno. Currently, it doesn’t feel much like home.The family lives in a sprawling tent city alongside thousands of their formerneighbors. Relief organisations provided them with two tents—the menand boys live in one, the women and girls in the other. Without a doubt, the most universally appreciated feature of their new

home is the school the children now attend. Founded in 2007, SenoPrimary School, started as a couple of classrooms made of reeds. By early2012, it had evolved into a six classroom school that suffered from many ofthe same challenges as other schools in Niger: insufficient classrooms andschool furniture, a lack of water and sanitation facilities, too few teachingand learning materials and a shortage of trained teachers. By early 2013, as

EDUCATION IN EMERGENCIES

Thanks to your support, even inthe most difficult circumstances,children are going to school.

Niger

Niamey

Schools for Africa The Omarou family’s story 3

families began to be resettled here, the school got an extreme makeover. Adifferent set of standards had come into play.The Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) is a global

network that works to ensure the right of children to education inemergencies. Its standards provide strict guidance for national governmentsand development agencies worldwide, including UNICEF, as they establisheducation programmes during emergencies. Ironically, in having met even the minimum standards laid out in these

guidelines, Seno Primary School has become better-equipped and staffedthan most schools in the country. “We are doing our best to provide qualityeducation to all of our students,” says Mamadou Tchiemogo, RegionalDirector of Education in Niamey, “but we simply do not have the means tomeet the magnitude of the need—even in the best of times.”Which these are not. Since 2012, crises have erupted in neighbouring

Mali, Libya and Nigeria, creating instability and conflict on Niger’s bordersand sending tens of thousands of refugees flooding into the country. Withevery refugee crisis, every security threat, the government is forced to shiftmore and more of its resources away from education. And yet, perhaps inno other country is education so critical to the future of a people and their country. Citing security concerns, some donors have pulled out. But UNICEF

remains—working on the frontlines to ensure refugees and other displacedpeople are able to continue their education, and working in the halls ofboth government and local schools to ensure that children’s right to qualityeducation is met.Nowhere is the need greater, or the stakes higher.

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06:02


We used to live in a house by the river inthe middle of Niamey, the capital of

Niger. But then the floods came, and ourhouse was washed away. They told us we

had to move here, to a place justoutside Niamey called Seno and that,from now on, this would be our home.


06:17 ”In the morning after we pray we fetch water,” says Mariama. “Itisn’t so hard. We fill up four buckets every morning. The worst part is that,when you pull the rope up again and again and again, it hurts your hands.”

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06:47 We tidy up, bathe and get ready for school.

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07:0307:12 Harouna (right) sells medicine in the villages around Niamey. “I’m not really sure howmuch I make,” he says. “I can’t calculate the profits because I never went to school.”


“We moved here because of the floods. One of the arms of the [Niger]river shifted and all of our houses were flooded. The water camesuddenly. We were surprised and scared. Everybody took what they couldand moved to the only shelter in the area: the school. “Life in the school was difficult. There were so many people. You would

have more than 45 people who didn’t even know each other livingtogether in a single classroom all day and sleeping together at night. The hygiene was really bad. “From the school, the government moved us here and gave each family

a plot of land to keep. We have been living here for five months now. It’snot easy to live with kids in a tent. It’s either too cold or it’s too hot andthe children get sick because of that. When I have the means, I willbuild us another house. “One thing I am happy about here is the school. Previously the school

was far from our house, so we were never sure whether they made itthere or not. Now, because it is so near, we can check to be sure theyarrived. My only concern is that the children have to cross a big riverbedto get there. In the rainy season that could be very dangerous. “I never went to school, but I believe education is very important—for

both boys and girls. The knowledge they get will unlock their potentialand open up opportunities for them to be whatever they want to be. Itwill also allow them to be self-sufficient. That’s why I want all of mychildren to go far in their studies. I have no intention of stopping them,even if the time for marriage comes. My only concern is whether or not Iwill continue to have the means to keep them in school.”

HAROUNA OMAROUGuardian and father

Protecting schools in an emergency

In October 2012, 8,000 households

sought refuge from the floods in Niamey

by occupying the schools. “Schools often

represent the only means that vulnerable

people have in their vicinity,” says

UNICEF Niger’s Education Chief, Lamine

Sow. As a result, desks and books may

be used to start cooking fires and

latrines and water points may be

destroyed due to heavy use. In addition,

because schools are occupied the

children cannot continue their education.

As floods have become more

common in Niger, UNICEF and its

partners have drafted guidelines for the

government that set out how people can

occupy schools without destroying them.

In addition, UNICEF has provided the

government with financial and technical

support in the development of flood

contingency plans wherein those who

are displaced can quickly and easily be

relocated to alternative sites located in

and around the city so that their lives are

disrupted as little as possible.

With your UNICEF support...

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07:27 After breakfast we walk to school with our friends.

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07:46


Education facilities

As soon as the displaced people relocated to Seno, UNICEF, in

collaboration with their humanitarian partners, provided them

with vital support. First, Non Food Item (NFI) kits were

distributed. These contained mosquito nets, blankets, buckets,

soap, tarpaulins, aquatabs, jerry cans and shelter. Emergency

food and water were also provided.

To ensure that there was no delay in the children returning

to school, UNICEF, the lead agency and Niger’s main provider

for education in emergencies, raised 12 emergency education

tents at the school. They filled these as well as existing

classrooms with 135 desks and benches, nine round tables,

nine cabinets, 16 school-in-a-box kits, and sufficient school

manuals and textbooks. The preschool received 30 small

rectangular tables and 102 chairs. They also hired and trained

teachers and worked with the community to train school

management committees. In subsequent months, UNICEF

and its partners continued to focus on upgrading the school’s

facilities to meet the INEE minimum standards: they

constructed an access road, a water point, and 12 semi-

permanent classrooms, which cost significantly less than

standard classrooms and can be built much faster.

The result is a facility that is significantly better than most

schools in Niger where approximately 60 per cent of all

classrooms are made of thatch, and where students typically

share textbooks and sit four to a desk. Most schools also lack

water and sanitation facilities: nationwide just 26 per cent of

schools have latrines and only 15 per cent have access to safe

drinking water.


07:51 Every morning, students take turnsgetting drinking water for their classrooms.

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07:58 Today it is Ismail’s turn to raise the flag.

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Planning for emergencies

“In recent years UNICEF Niger has been

responding to nutrition crises, refugee

crises and flooding crises....” says

Education Chief M. Lamine Sow. “In each

case, we have worked to provide basic

education services for the children

impacted by the crisis. But an emergency

can happen at any time, and even with

fast track initiatives in place, it can take a

long time for donors and NGOs to bring

resources for education and put them

in place. That is why we must shift our

thinking. First, instead of responding on

an ad hoc basis, we must build an

education in emergencies component

into our regular programme. Second, we

must turn our focus to low-cost,

sustainable and effective ways to

continue providing educational services,

even in a time of crisis.

In our extensive experience, one of

the best ways to do this is to help build

communities’ resilience. If people have

already organized themselves around

education within their communities, then,

when when a crisis strikes, they will be

prepared to play a much greater role in

helping themselves.”



08:47 ”In geography I am teaching thestudents about climate change,” saysIsmail and Mariama’s teacher, MamadouBoubacar. “This topic is especially relevantto the students at this school. They knowthat people were resettled here becausethe river flooded their homes, but I wantthem to understand that there is more toit: climate change is causing changes tothe rains, and this is one of the reasonsthe river overflowed.”

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09:23 “In the case of Niger, the climate change models predict that we will have moredrought and more floods,” says Mamadou Boubacar. “That is exactly what we are seeing.”

Schools for Africa The Omarou Family’s story 21

“At the end of 2012, floods along the Niger river affected a number ofneighborhoods. After the floods, the commune decided that, rather thansend people back only to be displaced again in the future, it was wise torelocate them. They brought them here, to Seno. “Until recently, our school had just six classrooms. With the arrival of

the displaced people, UNICEF put up twelve big tents to provide enoughclassroom space to accommodate the student population, which morethan doubled in a very short time. Before long, those tents had becomeactual classrooms and the school had many new teachers, an access road,more latrines and a water source. It also received numerous textbooksand teaching guides—some of which aren’t available in other districtschools. We have books, like the geography book, that don’t even existin Niger! There are brand new desks, so children are no longer seated fiveto a desk. All of the children have also received notebooks, pencils and a UNICEF bag. As a result of all that has been done for these resettledpeople, our school is now among the best-equipped schools in the whole region. “Our biggest challenge now is attendance. Because of all that we have

received, parents, including those who have lived in this area for a longtime, are now eager to send their children to our school. We have threeschools in this complex: a pre-school, a Franco-Arabic school, and aprimary school. In total, there are 848 students enrolled. I think that’smore than any other school in the region.”

MAMADOU BOUBACARTeacher and Deputy Director, Seno Primary School

Training teachers

In emergency situations, Inter-Agency

Network for Education in Emergencies

(INEE) standards call, ideally, for the

provision of trained teachers, and dictate

that teachers receive training in psycho-

social support, positive classroom

management and child-centered learning

techniques to better support students.

At the other end of the spectrum, as

population growth and demand for

education far outstrip supply, the majority

of Niger’s schools face an acute shortage

of adequately trained teachers. To make

up for the shortfall, individuals who lack

even minimal teacher training have been

recruited to teach.

UNICEF is working at both ends of the

teacher training spectrum to ensure that

all children are taught by teachers with

adequate skills. Between 2008 and 2014,

UNICEF supported 1000 untrained

teachers through a 45-day in-service

training programme. Beginning in 2015,

the second phase of this project will train

the country’s remaining 12,000-15,000

untrained teachers.


22 UNICEF Niger

“I wasn’t happy to leave our old neighborhood and move here, but atleast we came with all of our friends and neighbors. All of us wentthrough the flood together, so we moved here together and we startedschool together. “At first, the students from this area were mean to us. In the classroom

and the schoolyard, they were always threatening us and fighting withus and telling us to go back to our old school. The teachers talked tothem so they’ve stopped that now. “The school here is good. I like it. In our old school the teachers were

often absent. They didn’t come to school every day and they didn’texplain everything as well as our teachers here. This is important to mebecause when I finish school I want to be a teacher. I need to learn wellso that I can teach others well.”

MARIAMA ABDULLAHI Twelve-year-old Mariama is a class six student at Seno Primary School

10:31 “I like the notebooks,pens, pencils and school bagthat UNICEF gave us,”says Mariama. “Before, ourparents had trouble buyingthose things for all of us.”

School materials: School-in-a Box and school kits

The School-in-a-Box is part of UNICEF’s standard response in emergencies. Designed to

ensure the continuation of education within the first 72 hours of an emergency, the lockable

aluminium box contains basic school supplies and pedagogical materials for a teacher and up

to 40 students. Also included are a locally developed teaching guide and curriculum as well as

locally purchased items such as books in local languages. In Niger, UNICEF has pre-positioned

these kits throughout the country to facilitate their rapid deployment in emergencies.

During non-emergencies, UNICEF supports vulnerable children in their target areas by

constructing and equipping schools and by providing students with backpacks containing the

basic school supplies (notebooks, pencils, and geometry kits) many families cannot afford.



11:16 “With all of these facilities and materials teachers can teach well and childrencan succeed. Last year’s results were far better than previous years,” says Boubacar.

“The people who have lived here in Seno all along have probablybenefitted more than anybody else from the arrival of the displacedpeople. They now have an access road, water, and a new, well-equippedschool. But their children were not always kind to the new arrivals. Theyused to tease them about not having homes and would say ‘If it wasn’tfor our fields, you wouldn’t have a place to stay.’ The teachers took thisvery seriously. We helped the children understand that this kind ofdisaster could happen to anyone and that they should support the newarrivals because they are our fellow human beings. Today, thankfully, allof that has disappeared. They are friends and they work together.”

—Mamadou Boubacar, Teacher and Deputy Director, Seno Primary School

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12:37 While lunch is cooking, Ismail cleans his football shoes.

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07:49


“There are eight people living in our two tents. It’s ok, but I wouldprefer to live in a house because a house is warmer and in a house thereis more space, so everything fits inside. Here we don’t have enoughspace. But this place does have some things that are better than wherewe used to live, like the support [food aid] we get. “I also enjoy the school here. I am learning better than I did in my old

school. The classrooms are better, the teachers teach better—they taketime to explain things to us—and there are fewer students in our class.There are also more latrines—not just one for all of the students. I alsolike it that here, when we have math homework, we can borrow a bookand bring it home. In my old school that wasn’t possible. “It is important to go to school. If you do, you will see the benefits. In

the future, I want to be a doctor. It would make me happy to take careof people who are sick. I also want to build a cement house for myselfand for my family and give money to my parents so they can dowhatever they want to do.”

ISMAIL ABDULLAHIFifteen-year-old Ismail is a class six student at Seno Primary School

13:29 “After lunch I domy homework,” says Ismail.“The more I do now, themore time I will have toplay football after school.”

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15:41 “Though she is in class three, this is only Rashida’s second year inschool,” says her father, Harouna.”She was living in the village, so shestarted school late. I see a big difference in the girls who go to school.School is good for girls. It makes them less shy and more outgoing.”

Schools for Africa xxxxxxxx’s story 31

32 UNICEF Niger

Textbooks

“We have had a shortage of textbooks since

2006,” says Mamadou Tchiemogo, Regional

Director for Education in Niamey. “Last year,

we received donor support in providing text-

books, but even then there was a gap.” To fill

the gap, UNICEF distributed three million

textbooks and teachers’ guides to schools

throughout the country.



07:45

16:10 “Sometimes it is easy to understandwhat we are doing in school and sometimesit is hard,”says Rashida. “I am glad I canask my teacher for help whenever I don’tunderstand something.”

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16:29 Like Mariama, Rashida wants to be a teacher when she grows up.“These days, there are a number of schools that have more women teachersthan men,” says Mariama Seno, another teacher at Seno Primary School.“This has a big impact on girls. The teacher is a role model for them.”


16:57 “I like my Arabic teacher,” says Yakouba. “He speaks nicely to us so it is easy to learn.”

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“This is the only school in this area that offers students the choice oflearning in a traditional French-speaking school or in a Franco-Arabicschool. The government insisted we provide a Franco-Arabic school herebecause many of those who were displaced studied in a school like thisin their old neighborhood. It is important for them to be able tocontinue in the same curriculum.“The parents who are new to this kind of school are glad that their

children are learning in both languages. It gives students a greaternumber of schools to choose from as they continue their education. Plus, you can’t ignore the fact that we are an Islamic country. Some parentsfeel that this option puts them on the path with Islam.”

AMADOU BOUREIMAArabic Teacher at Seno Primary School’s Franco-Arabic School

A relevant curriculum

In an emergency, the minimum standards require the curricula to be relevant to the present

and anticipated future needs of the learners. Thus, not only should it be familiar to students, it

should contain information the community needs as a result of the crisis, for example, mine

awareness, peace education, health and nutrition, or HIV/AIDS prevention.

UNICEF is also working to make Niger’s standard primary school curriculum practical and

relevant to all learners. The traditional curriculum is conceived as a series of long-term

courses that stretch from primary through the end of secondary school. Given that most

students leave school at the end of the primary cycle or even earlier, this is impractical. Thus,

UNICEF has advocated for more of a competency based approach, which ensures that, whilst

they are in school, students also acquire essential life skills. As a result, key family practices,

including the use of mosquito nets, exclusive breastfeeding and handwashing with soap at

critical times, are now an integral part of Niger’s basic curriculum.

17:19 “I put Yakouba in theFranco-Arabic school becauseit will give him two benefits,”says his father, HarounaOmarou. “Sometimes you gosomewhere and the writing isonly in Arabic. He will be ableto read that, and he willalso be able to read French.”


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17:51


17:57 After school, Mariama and Rashida cook dinner.

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18:13 Then everybody does their homework...

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18:22 ...except Ismail, who is still playing football.

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Schools for Africa xxxxxxxx’s story 47

All children have a right to education.

UNICEF is working with government, developmentpartners, local education authorities and NGOs toprovide uninterrupted access to quality education

for the world’s most vulnerable children.

www.schoolsforafrica.org

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To fund all of its work UNICEF relies entirely on voluntary donations from individuals,

governments, institutions and corporations. We receive no money from the UN budget.

Thank you for believing that all children have the right to an education.

ABOUT UNICEF

Together with you, UNICEF is working to make a difference for all children,everywhere, all the time. All children have rights that guarantee them whatthey need to survive, grow, participate and fulfill their potential. Yet everyday these rights are denied. Millions of children die from preventablediseases. Millions more don’t go to school, or don’t have food, shelter andclean water. Children suffer from violence, abuse and discrimination. This iswrong. UNICEF works globally to transform children’s lives by protecting and

promoting their rights. Their fight for child survival and development takesplace every day in remote villages and in bustling cities, in peaceful areasand in regions destroyed by war, in places reachable by train or car and interrain passable only by camel or donkey. Their achievements are won school by school, child by child, vaccine by

vaccine, mosquito net by mosquito net. It is a struggle in which success ismeasured by what doesn't happen—by what is prevented.UNICEF will continue this fight—to make a difference for all children,

everywhere, all the time.

Schools for Africa xxxxxxxx’s story 49Photography, writing and design: Kelley Lynch

UNICEF Niger

Boite Postale 12.481

Niamey

NIGER

Tel : + (227) 20.72.71.00

Fax: + (227) 20.73.34.68

email: [email protected]

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The Schools for Africa initiative is a successful international

fundraising partnership between UNICEF, the Nelson

Mandela Foundation and the Peter Krämer Stiftung. For

more information please visit www.schoolsforafrica.org.

unicef niger: the omarou family's story

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