Niger

Talking to people who have lived or traveled in Niger, you get a very different picture than you might expect of one of the world’s poorest countries. Despite the food shortages, the arid land and the threat of the Sahara Desert creeping southward, you hear that Niger is “amazing.”

“Amazing” is also the reaction of people who learn of the transformation in Hadizatou Makole’s life. As a member of the Hanzari Women’s Group, one of LWR’s partners in Niger, this mother of eight received training in business management and credit to build up a herd of animals.

Now, she can provide for all eight kids on her own. She has purchased four ewes and a cow — unheard of for a woman in her community. Hadizatou represents a turning point in opportunities for women in Niger, made possible by the kind of grassroots movements LWR supports.

Without these programs, Niger’s amazing women would likely remain marginalized — uneducated, vulnerable, unable to access credit — and the country would lose out on the leadership they have to offer.

The coming years will be an uphill battle for this struggling nation. Yet LWR will continue to act alongside some pretty amazing local partners to combat the causes of poverty in Niger.

Your donations help LWR projects that empower the amazing people of Niger.

• Providing technical training in sustainable agriculture, increasing production, processing and marketing
• Repairing and protecting crop irrigation systems
• Developing appropriate local seed supply for cooperatives of smallholder farmers
• Promoting access to training and credit for income-generating activities and small-business management
• Increasing economic growth and alliances among women farmers and entrepreneurs so they can advocate for more decision-making power.

• Instituting programs to help communities recover from and prevent future food shortages by
• Restoring lost livestock
• Building, repairing and stocking community grain banks

• Training farmers to adapt farming methods to the climate, using conservation agriculture techniques

15,290,102
TOTAL POPULATION

$340
GNI* PER CAPITA

59.5%
AT OR BELOW POVERTY LINE

52 years
LIFE EXPECTANCY

39% (rural)
ACCESS TO IMPROVED WATER SOURCE

9%
ACCESS TO IMPROVED SANITATION