A letter from Kara VanderKamp in Niger
March 6, 2006
Dear Friends and Family,
I would like to begin by saying thank you for your thoughts, prayers, emails and letters. As I am in the midst of transition and in the process of adapting to the culture in Niger, it is encouraging and helpful to know that you are supporting me.
Before coming to Niger, many of you asked me to explain my job with more specificity. At the time, I could only talk about my responsibilities in general terms. I knew that the Evangelical Church of Niger (EERN) was in the process of creating a Christian school system, and I knew my job was to assist them in that endeavor. My standard reply was that one of my first tasks was to figure out what my specific responsibilities were. While I now know that these responsibilities will be constantly reevaluated and in flux, I’m happy to report that over the past month I’ve made steps towards more clearly defining my job.
At present, the EERN has one primary school open and another one ready to open in the fall. In my last newsletter I mistakenly wrote that the school in Tsibiri has been open for the past two years. In fact, it has been in existence for over 20 years. It was started by SIM (then called Sudan Interior Missions, now known as Serving in Missions) as a mission primary school and was handed over to the EERN nearly 10 years ago. In a sense, this is the EERN’s pilot school and will be used as a model for its future primary schools. So one of my main responsibilities is to assist the EERN educational leaders in creating policies and protocol where necessary, and to document those already in use at the Tsibiri School. This will insure that a standard system is in place as other schools are established.
With this in mind, over the past few weeks we have been working on more clearly defining the EERN student scholarship policy. Since 2002, my colleague Tom Johnson and the EERN leaders have been at work on a student scholarship program. For this endeavor, a large sum of money was raised in 2005 through the generosity of the members of the Reformed Church in America (RCA) and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). A week and a half ago, I spent two days at the school in Tsibiri collecting information, which we are now using — along with the EERN scholarship policy — to discern which students will receive scholarships.
While my time at the Tsibiri School was short, it was a good first visit. It gave me the opportunity to meet the administrator, director, teachers and many of the other staff members. I was impressed and encouraged by their professionalism and hard work. We asked them to gather a lot of data in a short amount of time — this was in addition to their normal duties — but they never complained or let on that it was a strain for them. I plan on returning to the school for a week in March to get to know the staff better, to observe classes and to learn the day-to-day activities and routines.
Hannatou with her son Ilia and daughter Naomi.
On a more personal note, I’m really enjoying living with my Nigerien family. When I think of this family, the word that keeps coming to mind is “joyful.” It’s hard to describe, but it seems like whatever the circumstances, the family feels an underlying sense of joy. Even when one or two of them are upset and fighting, there is a sense that a smile is just below the surface.
Hannatou, the mother of the family, has an interesting life story. Her mother was orphaned when she was about 9 or 10 years old, and an SIM missionary took her under her wing. I’m not sure if this means that she lived with her or not, but I do know that they had a very close relationship, and Hannatou’s mother thought of the missionary as her mother. The missionary provided the funds for Hannatou and her sibling’s education so that they could go to the Tsibiri Primary School.
What strikes me about Hannatou’s story, and many others like hers, is that it was the personal relationships that had the most positive impact on her life. While Hannatou’s childhood was not always easy, it’s obvious that she looks back on it fondly. In additon, she’s been able to develop her skills and talents through education and other opportunities. Currently she is a supervisor at World Vision, an NGO. Noticeably, she has a great deal of influence on both a professional and personal level. Many visitors come to their house seeking advice and assistance from Hannatou and her husband. I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity to live with them and get to know them on a deeper level.
Please continue to keep in touch. I love hearing news about what’s going on in your life!
You are in my thoughts and prayers,
Kara
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 314
