3 September 2007
Goulbi N'Kaba
Goulbi N’Kaba Area Development Programme (ADP) is located in a semi-desert area of Niger’s Maradi region. In the ADP’s 40 villages there are four main ethnic groups – Hausa, Tuareg, and Fulani.
More than 85 per cent of families engage in agriculture and rearing livestock. These farmers have to overcome the challenges of a hot climate, deforestation and water scarcity to sustain their families.
|
Interesting facts
- It is customary for members of villages in Niger to have only one or two family names; because of this, and the popularity of certain first names, it is common for several children to have the same name
- Adult illiteracy means an exact date of birth is not necessarily recorded; instead families may base it on the season of a person’s birth
- Few children in West Africa have birth certificates
|
Education
Education levels in the Goulbi N’Kaba area are extremely low, with girls often missing out altogether. School enrolment only takes place every second year, but even then few villages have primary schools.
World Vision builds, repairs and equips primary school classrooms and establishes second-chance classes for children who do not attend school. It trains teachers in education methodologies and new topics, such as hygiene and HIV prevention, and holds community meetings to encourage parents to allow their daughters to receive an education. Adult literacy classes are popular, as people learn about the important role education has in reducing poverty.
Health
The area lacks medical facilities, supplies and trained health workers. Malnutrition is common, as are malaria and diarrhoea. Much time is spent collecting water over long distances, and poor sanitation and water-borne diseases are major health risks.
World Vision builds and equips health huts, so each village can access health services within five kilometres. It trains traditional birth attendants and village health volunteers in hygiene. These volunteers educate people in health, sanitation, immunisation and prevention of malaria, diarrhoea and HIV. They assist the Department of Health with immunisation and form village health committees.
Drilling wells and equipping them with hand pumps, digging latrines and teaching people to store water in locally-made narrow-neck jars are part of World Vision’s work in Goulbi N’Kaba. Committees are trained to maintain pumps and grow vegetables around them. Families contribute to pump maintenance funds.
|
 Goulbi N'Kaba ADP
|
Agriculture
Lack of access to resources and water, drought, locust invasions and little knowledge of modern agricultural practices, limit harvests.
World Vision trains farmers to use fertilisers, implement modern farming methods, plant more productive varieties of cereals and grow vegetables. It offers low-interest loans for farm equipment, fertiliser and other resources. Cereal banks, where families can buy grain during times of shortage, prepare villages for natural disasters.
Conservation
Desertification is a major issue facing the area. Goulbi N’Kaba ADP teaches conservation practices to reduce pressure on scarce resources. It establishes acacia tree nurseries and runs planting programmes to reverse desertification, halt erosion and provide food in times of hunger.
Income generation
Women learn income-generating skills in the spare time they gain from having closer access to water. These activities increase household financial security, encourage literacy and improve the status of women. World Vision trains women and teenage girls in activities such as sewing and soap making. Young men also learn carpentry and pot-making. Goulbi N’Kaba ADP establishes village banks offering low-interest loans through savings groups so people can expand their productive activities.
Community leadership
World Vision works with local communities to establish committees to oversee sectors, such as water and health, and a community-based organisation to manage overall community development. Women’s participation in these groups improves their status. Children and young people also hold places on the committees.
Sustainable development
World Vision started Goulbi N’Kaba ADP in 1998, and is working with the community to enhance ongoing development. Progress is evaluated every four years, and when the community reaches its goals World Vision will begin to reduce its support, allowing the community to direct its own development.
|
