June 2005
Vol. 5, No. 1
Hello everyone,
If you’ll notice above, this issue marks the start of the
fifth year since I’ve been writing to you as a missionary
with the Reformed Church in America and the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.). Much has happened since I wrote my first newsletter
in June 2001! Thank you for all those who read this and remember
us in your prayers and thoughts. You play a very important role
in encouraging us and our work—more than you will ever know.
The biggest news from Niger right now is that the country is
in the middle of a famine. Normally, the months of the rainy season
are difficult for the average Nigerien, as they use the last of
their resources from last year to put in the new crop and then
experience a lean time between planting and harvest when nothing
is quite ready to eat and their reserves dwindle to nothing. Their
isn’t much margin should bad luck occur. And that’s
what’s happening. Because of scarce rains, a poor harvest,
and locust infestations in 2004, between now and the start of
harvest (October) almost a third of its population will go hungry.
Warnings have been issued that some 800,000 children aged five
and under are suffering from hunger. Of these, 150,000 are malnourished.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
has appealed for $16.2 million for this silent crisis, but with
disasters in other parts of the world—including last year’s
tsunami—it doesn’t look like Niger will get much outside
help.
While the lack of available food is always an issue in a famine,
this famine is also a result of a lack of money in people’s
hands. Food prices have doubled and tripled, and people simply
don’t have the additional funds to cope. We hear that in
some rural areas, there aren’t even any grains available
in the marketplace since there is no “pull” (cash)
for the traders to even bother to bring their cereals. In the
larger population centers finding food is not a problem—only
paying for it is. In addition to the 19 percent value-added tax
that was imposed this spring, life is difficult for many.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much the church can do to help
with the famine. We have no existing infrastructure in place to
do famine relief and to create one that would do a meaningful
job would require a lot of start-up funds that couldn’t
possibly be used for implementation until after the fall harvest—when
much of the crisis will have passed—and it will be too late
to do any good. I did submit a proposal to help feed 200 severely
malnourished children in Zinder (it is operated by that City’s
Public Health Department) that is short on funds, and we’ll
see if that gets funded. I’m also trying to put together
a one-month work project where people can get paid to help make
bricks for building some exterior boundary walls for EERN churches.
That would at least help a few families gain some additional income,
but it is only a drop in the bucket, and we all know it. Choosing
who will benefit from such a project is almost as problematic
as doing nothing. Having the church choose winners and losers
is not very appealing either.
Perhaps the best thing you in the United States can do right
now is support the primary school sponsorship program that the
RCA has created with the EERN. After this year’s famine,
fewer families will be able to afford to send their child to school—and
young girls are always the first to be kept at home when home
finances are tight. Your contribution may give these kids an opportunity
that would otherwise be denied to them due to their families’
poverty. Such a gift will help send Nigerien children to one of
the EERN’s schools at a cost of either $60, $90 or $120
a year. More details can be found by clicking here.
We have had one source of good news though in Niger—the
annual rains have come early and have been regular. Last year
at this time, many areas had not even experienced their first
rain and this year farmers have already had their seeds in the
ground for over three weeks and the crops have been growing rapidly.
An early harvest will make a huge difference for hundred of thousands
of Nigeriens. Let’s pray that the rains continue.
I have been studying the Hausa language in the afternoons and
it has been going very well. My teacher is a real scholar and
we have covered a lot of ground. Many things are starting to fall
into place for me that never quite made sense before. It was not
a good idea for me to tackle Hausa so soon after learning French.
Now my French is pretty solid and I don’t have any problems
mixing the two languages up, as I did in 2002.
Aïchatou has been at home with Marie-Florence. We’ve
been disappointed that she hasn’t been able to make any
progress at her medical school, and without going into any details,
we ask that you continue to pray for this situation. African institutions
pose certain problems that we in the West can never imagine would
happen. Marie has been benefiting from this time with her mother
and she has been enjoying the books she received as birthday gifts.
Her vocabulary has been growing rapidly and with the English-language
books, she now has more English words than any other other language.
Her teeth have doubled as the top ones came in last week, and
as Aïchatou said, “She has become a carnivore,”
by tearing into meat with a new-found enthusiasm. Aïchatou
is doing well during her pregnancy but finds she needs a lot of
sleep.
Our plans for five months (August to January) in the United States
are coming along well, with most of my Sundays scheduled with
church visits (Aïchatou will unlikely attend many churches
because of the new baby). RCA congregations need to contact their
Synod Mission Stewardship Coordinator to find out what times are
left for scheduling me. We’re still not certain how we will
handle leaving Niamey in August and what we will do with our household
affairs—move houses again, put things in storage, or send
everything to the Bible School at Dogon Gao. Here’s another
item that requires prayer for guidance!
Finally, I’ll have a small break from Hausa study next
week with the arrival of the Reverend Taylor Holbrook and his
daughter from New York. They are visiting Africa and the mission
field as part of Rev. Holbrook’s sabbatical and our plan
is to see Lake Chad and to visit EERN churches.
Prayer requests
- Please pray for those who are suffering in the famine that
is affecting most of the Sahel region (south of the Sahara).
Pray that aid will arrive and that people will be able to get
their crops in.
- Give thanks for early start of rainy season. Pray for continued
good rains. Good rain now will particularly help the nomadic
people as they search for pasture for their animals.
- Pray for our pregnancy and the good development of our unborn
child.
- Pray for our family’s health (we’ve all been suffering
from some itchy heat rashes).
- Pray for Aïchatou’s and my studies as we continue
to prepare ourselves for our future ministry.
- Pray for our preparations as we get ready for our five-month
home assignment that begins in mid-August.
- Pray for our safety as we travel across Niger for one week
with the visit of Rev. Holbrook and his daughter.
In Christ,
Tom, Aïchatou and Marie-Florence
The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
316 |
