The Republic of Niger faces a deep-rooted post-colonial problem: French is the language of administration and education, even though it is hardly used in everyday life by most people. Children learn to read and write in a foreign language that is not spoken in their families or villages. As a result, many drop out of school in the early years, and even after more than 65 years of independence, 70 per cent of adults, and almost 90 per cent of women, cannot read or write in either their mother tongue or French. However, this is an indispensable foundation for the country‘s democratic and economic development.
Against this backdrop, the Mate ni kani association was founded in Germany in 2010. Thanks to close contacts with schools, authors and civil society groups in Niger, sustainable educational initiatives have been promoted ever since.
The main focus is on promoting children‘s and young adult books in the most important national languages, Hausa, Djerma, Fulfulde, Tamasheq and Kanuri, each combined with French. To date, around 40 novels, fairy tales, comics and non-fiction books have been published. They are written, illustrated, laid out and printed entirely in Niger, thus keeping the added value in the country. As reading material in schools, Koranic schools and vocational training centres, they contribute to literacy that respects and strengthens cultural identity.
For several years now, special attention has been paid to books for girls. The illustrated series «Karambana» takes up the everyday experiences of women, encourages girls to attend school and shows perspectives for a self-determined life in harmony with their own culture.
In addition to educational projects, the association supports the self-help organisation «Association des Femmes Actives contre le Sida» (AFAS) in Niamey. Founded in 2007, this association of over a hundred mostly single, HIV-positive women provides counselling, fights against stigmatisation and enables economic independence through microloans.
In Germany, too, Mate ni kani e.V. highlights the connections between language, education policy and development. In the bilingual documentary film «Der Stier im Brunnen» (The Bull in the Well) from 2019, contemporary witnesses report on their colonial and post-colonial educational experiences in Niger. The film is available on YouTube.
By fostering education and cultural self-determination, this work contributes to the strengthening of civil society and the advancement of democracy in Niger.
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