A letter from Kara VanderKamp in Niger
January 31, 2006
Dear Friends and Family,
I am happy to announce that after a year of anticipation and planning I have finally arrived in Niger! Just two weeks ago, the EERN’s (Evangelical Church of Niger) director of education greeted me at the airport in Niamey, the capital of Niger. It happened that I was on the same plane from Paris to Niamey as Tom and Aichatou Johnson, my colleagues from the PC(USA). This was a great help, as it made the process of going through customs and picking up my baggage much smoother. As I exited the airport my first impression of Niger was one of heat and dust! Since then, I have found Niamey to be a diverse city with many interesting people and places.
Before my arrival I had requested to stay with a Nigerien family for the first few months in order to more quickly and smoothly assimilate into the culture. While at times I miss my independence, I’m glad that I made this decision. It is helpful and comforting to stay with people from Niger who care about me and from whom I can learn. Each member of the family has gone out of their way to make me feel comfortable. When I was in France for my language study, I suspected that it would be advantageous to have children around — for learning the language and for fun. I was right! Both of the girls (ages 12 and 14) love to talk and play games, and a few times I’ve helped them with their homework.
Last weekend, the girls’ youth group, “Fabrication de Joie” (known as “King’s Kids” throughout the world), hosted another youth group from Korea. The culminating event was Saturday evening when two or three Korean children stayed overnight with a Nigerien host family. I took the role as translator, since the two girls who stayed with my family did not speak French. Most of the time, however, we had to play charades, as their English was quite limited as well.
So far, I have been kept very busy. My supervisor, Dr. Addo, arranged a thorough orientation for my first week, which included meeting with church leaders and members, a tour of the city, a session with the minister of education for Niger, and attending church services and activities. During the first church service I had to present myself to the congregation in French. It went well, but it was definitely one of the most difficult things I’ve done so far. In fact, because of the accent and different cultural expressions, French is my biggest challenge. Even when I understand all of the words there are times when I miss the meaning. For example, after church I was talking to an older woman, and she remarked that, “they needed to find a friend for me.” Of course, I readily agreed that it would be nice to have a friend. It wasn’t until later that I remembered that although she had said “friend,” the expression she used meant they needed to find a boyfriend or husband for me! I can’t help wondering what she thought when I quickly agreed to that.
Much of my time has also spent going around town to different government buildings gathering documents for my carte de sejour, which is comparable to a “green card” in the United States. The church’s secretary helped me with this process. This was a great opportunity for me, as it taught me many important things about Niamey, such as where the best markets are and how to get around by “taxi.” One morning, while we were waiting for some documents to be processed, we took advantage of the extra time by going to the National Museum and Zoo. It was interesting to learn more about the history of Niger and the many different ethnic groups that reside in the country.
I’m still very excited about the work I will be doing. There is a lot of potential for the church to do many good things in the area of education. In the next few weeks, I hope to visit other schools in Niamey, both private and public, in order to get a better feel for how the educational system works. I will also make a visit to the EERN school in Tibiri, which has been fully operational for the past two years. Since it is a six- to eight-hour drive from Niamey, my plan is to spend at least a couple of weeks in that area. This would give me time to observe the day-to-day operations as well as meet with the school and church leaders, teachers, students and parents. I would also like to see the new school complex that the church is completing in the neighboring town of Zinder.
I am thankful for how smoothly my transition into life and work in Niger has gone so far. Everyone, including the taxi drivers, has been kind and helpful. I would also like to thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
Sincerely,
Kara
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 314
