Adventures in Niger

Just wanted to let you all know about my latest adventures in Niger. A couple of weeks ago I went to visit a villager in the bush. We took an hour bush walk to this village near the river which is known for its bird sanctuary. The birds migrate during the dry season looking for water in the seasonal lakes beside the Niger River. We were able to take a pirogue (dug out canoe) ride at sunset on one of the lakes and saw thousands of birds on the water. After getting near them, the entire flock took off in what seemed like a cloud, it was incredible!

Last week I went to see another volunteer at her village which is on the bank of the Niger River. In the evening we took a pirogue ride on the river and went on foot into the national park with one of the guides. Elephants! We turned a corner and saw five elephants grazing on the other side of a canal. After watching them for a bit, we headed further into the bush on a path beside one of the canals searching for another heard of elephants. After about a twenty minute walk, we spotted some elephant dung, kept walking and found a herd of eighteen elephants on the opposite bank of the canal! They were amazing to watch. One of the best things about it was the fact that we were able to see them grazing in their natural environment. We were only about twenty feet away from the herd and they were not at all worried by our presence. We sat on the edge of the river and watched them for some time, grazing at the water's edge and reaching up with their trunks to reach the foliage in the trees. At sunset we left the elephants and rode around a bit more on the river before heading back to the village. It was an unforgettable day in Niger. Hopefully next time I will be able to spend longer in the bush and see a variety of animals- there are supposed to be baboons and a wide variety of birds. A few people have also come across lion dung so we'll see how it goes. All is well in Niger and hot season is here. Much love, Jah Bless

Project Play

March 5, 2008

Family and friends-

Hey guys, hope all is well back in the States! Things are great here in Niger; hot season is on its way though. I just got back from one of the craziest road trips ever! I'll give you guys a quick recap of my last week...

I was hanging out at the hostel last weekend since we had a team meeting and the new PCV's on Team Dosso had come back from "live in" where they spend a week at their post. Anyway, this group of white people showed up (I never see white people other than Peace Corps volunteers and staff). They were a group from this organization called "Project Play". The head of the group, Mike Michelle, was w PCV in Zinder, Niger from 1983-86. As a volunteer he began to play soccer to stay sane and ended up playing with the Zinder team and winning the national championship with them! He came back 25 years later with over 2,000 balls to give to PCV's and locals in hopes of encouraging the game.

I had written a proposal and asked for a few balls without realizing how many they had. Well, Dosso was their first stop so instead of receiving the six I had asked for, I received 40 since I was so interested and excited about the project. Mike and the others noticed my interest and invited me to come along and be the liaison between them and Peace Corps. Of course I said yes!

We headed out from Dosso on Saturday morning and went to Konni, Maradi, and on to Zinder, stopping at roadside villages, Peace Corps hostels and PCVs' villages on the way east (look at a map to see how far we went). In Zinder, Mike was able to meet up with many of his old teammates with whom he won the championship 25 years earlier. It was a great moment to be a part of. We were able to donate balls to the current Zinder team as well.

I just now got back from Zinder, tired and with a sore back side. I won't begin to go into the condition of the roads and some of the set backs along the way!

I am now the “in country director/coordinator” for Project Play in Niger. I am responsible for compiling feedback and photos from other volunteers, schools and organizations that received the balls and relay that information back to the Project Play folks back in the States and Brazil, where Mike lives. We were able to give away of most of the soccer balls, bags, pumps and needles (about 600 balls are still in country). I will also be in charge of the remaining balls to give them out according to people's needs.

This has been an amazing week for me, a real landmark in my service here in Niger. It was so uplifting seeing the kids’ faces once they received these shiny new balls. Just as a quick example, one secondary school we went to had over 1000 students and only two soccer balls. You all can imagine how grateful they were to receive over 20 brand new balls. Amazing!

Lastly, I wanted to share a project idea that this adventure sparked for me. Since plastic bags are used for everything here, it has created quite a problem (no recycling, trash collection). The streets and trees are always littered with bags so I decided to do something about it. I will be collecting bags, twisting them together to make thin ropes, tying them together and making a grid which will eventually be made into soccer nets. I am really excited about getting this underway because I think it goes hand-in-hand with Project Play.

I'll need a full week to recover from this road trip but I had the most amazing time. I will try to get some pictures send y'alls way soon. Take care and keep in touch.

Much love,
James