A letter from Kara VanderKamp in Niger
January 22, 2007
Friends,
Many changes have occurred in my life since the last time I wrote. Probably the biggest event was my move from Niamey, the capital of Niger, to Maradi, a smaller city ten hours east. Maradi is a bustling city of roughly 150,000 people. Nigeriens like to call this mid-size city the “economic capital” of the country. For me, this title conjures up images of tall buildings, lots of banks and financial institutions and maybe even a stock exchange. However, this was not the scene that greeted me when I arrived. Instead, from my perspective, a more accurate image would be that of a giant village. Not only are there open markets and kiosks on every corner, but there are also people everywhere, mainly walking and riding bikes, mopeds and motorcycles as well as a fair amount of vehicles on the road. There are also scores of children who seem to believe that the road is, in fact, a playground created just for them. This makes driving in Maradi a scary proposition, as it would not be difficult to have an accident. (Incidentally, I am told that Maradi’s claim to be an economic center is based on the plethora of imports and exports that flow through the city to and from Nigeria.)
Kara’s new house in Maradi was the first church in Maradi before it was converted into a home.
This move to Maradi has also afforded me the opportunity to move into my own home. During my first six months here I lived with a lovely Nigerien family. While I enjoyed living with them, I’m happy to be doing my own cooking and cleaning. My house, which is situated nicely on the Serving in Mission (SIM) compound, has a long and interesting history, since before its renovation it was the first church in Maradi. In fact, many of my Nigerien friends have told me about conversions, weddings and other events that took place in my house. There is even a grave just outside my living room window, which serves as a reminder of the realities of not only life in general but also of the vulnerability of living in a country like Niger, where average life expectancy is around 43 years.
Kara next to her car on the day she left Niamey for her new home in Maradi.
My job has also changed quite a bit, which is why I moved to Maradi. The person I worked most closely with, Dr. Addo, moved to the United States in August (his wife works for Voice of America, and she was transferred to Washington, D.C.). In order to fill the void that Dr. Addo left, the church formed an education committee that has been asked to create an education department for the church. You may recall that my purpose in being here is to help the Evangelical Church of Niger (EERN) further its vision of creating a Christian school system. Since the members of the committee live in the Maradi area, and most of the EERN educational institutions are also in this region, it made sense for me to live and work here as well. I must say that I have really enjoyed having the opportunity to work with a group of people who have a passion for education. In order to fulfill its overall objective of laying a foundation for and creating a department of education, we will be touring Niger in the next few months, visiting with churches and church groups in order to educate people about the EERN’s vision for education. The committee will also put on a conference in the summer to solidify the mission and vision of the department and to document its policies and procedures.
Starting at the end of January I will take advantage of my new home near the church’s primary school and try my hand at teaching English to the two oldest classes (which are comparable to fifth and sixth grades in the United States). This is the first time I’ve taught English as a second language, and I’m looking forward to getting back into the classroom and working with children again. In addition to teaching, I’m also toying with the idea of starting an informal intramural soccer league with the school kids.
So, all in all, everything is going well, and I expect that 2007 will be a busy, interesting and fun packed year! Please keep in touch.
God bless,
Kara
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 319
