Niger - the 411

Today's history lesson is brought to you by yours truly (with a tiny bit of help from the internet)!


I have visited Africa twice now and I am certainly no expert on the continent. However, I continue to learn new things about Africa (or at least try to!), and my hope is that while I continue to learn that those around me catch that same desire to discover this really cool place!


Where is Niger?
Niger ≠ Nigeria. Contrary to popular belief, Niger is a completely different country than Nigeria. I have found this to be an extremely common misconception, so here I am setting the record straight once and for all :-) Niger is a landlocked country that shares a border with 7 other countries. Can you name all 7 surrounding countries? Probably not. Can you name 1? The answer to that is probably no too. Don't feel ashamed... there are 54 countries in addition to 9 territories in Africa. Africa is the second largest continent on the planet!! Niger lies on the southern edge of the Sahara desert. Galmi is located in the Tahoua region of the country, which is located near the southern border of the country.

Fun fact of the day: Niger is bordered by Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria, Libya, and Chad. The capital of Niger is Niamey.

What language do they speak?
This may or may not be a loaded question. There are many different languages spoken in Niger. The official language of the country is French. Parlez-vous français? Technically speaking, I don't either, but I'm in the process of learning! Nearly 90% of the people in and around Galmi speak Hausa, the trade language of Niger. One of the hallmarks of the Hausa culture is the importance of greeting others properly. During my first visit to Galmi, I quickly learned that you simply cannot pass by someone without them saying hello! That said, I have no doubt the Nigeriens will help me to feel at home from day 1!

What type of government does Niger have?
To give you an idea where Niger is at this point in time, I'll begin with their constitution, which has contained several versions - the latest being passed and put into place November 25, 2010. Hop across the pond to America, whose constitution was passed more than 200 years ago, and you might think we are living in two different worlds. Niger declared their independence from France on August 3, 1960. The country has a semi-presidential republic, meaning there is a president (Issoufou Mahamadou) who is the head of state and a prime minister (Brigi Rafini) who is head of government. There is also a legislative branch whose powers are vested in the government and the National Assembly. The judiciary of Niger is independent of the legislative and government branches, however has jurisdiction over constitutional and electoral matters. Interestingly, the president is elected by the absolute majority vote and can serve up to two 5-year terms. The prime minister is appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly.

What is the weather like?
WARM. Niger is part of the sub-Sahara region. Sahara = desert = warm, dusty, hot, etc. I am so excited to have SUMMER for an entire year!!

Niger trivia round 2 is coming soon with lots of photos!

Please be praying!
The past couple of weeks have been extremely non-Africa-productive hectic. While I feel my stress level is not anywhere near where it normally is during tax season (which is a super good thing), it's been incredibly difficult to stay focused on fundraising for Africa while still being dedicated to doing my professional job and performing at the level that I strive to perform at daily. I've thrown about 7 different balls up in the air recently in terms of fundraising, and at this point I am hoping that I don't have to catch them all at once when they come back down! Thank you to those of you who have helped put things together so far and who continually provide me with new ideas. Just your willingness to help me brainstorm means the world to me!

Please be praying for God's provision and timing in fundraising and that He would make it clear to me which avenues to pursue and when to pursue them. God is seriously training my trust muscles with this one. I'm learning that trust is the name of the game. For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, 'Do not fear; I will help you.'  And this trust exercise, that I'm currently obviously not prepared for, feels like my training for this marathon. Silly me thought I could get away with showing up on race day. Lately, my brain can't understand how I am going to swing this in the next two months and find the remaining approximate $20,000 that I need for this journey to come to fruition, but that's just the thing - I don't need to have it planned out because God already has the plan. And my prayer for the upcoming months is that I can hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

The real fun fact of the day: He is always so faithful.