Success Stories

Mariama “Tata”

Working Together to Build Autonomy

Mariama, known as Tata, lives in Ebrouk. For her first loan, Tata borrowed 15,000 CFA (a conservative amount) to buy and resell gas and biscuits. She bought both at a good price and quickly resold them at a profit. She had enough time to reinvest and double her profits before repaying her loan. In all, ...

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Naoude

Naoude Doulla comes from the ethnic minority group, Peulh-Wodaabe. Among Nigeriens, the Peulh have some of the lowest rates of education and literacy. Naoude beat the odds, completed her education, and has spent the last 3 years working as a nurse. This is her story: 

Naoude completed elementary school in the rural village of Tagdoumt. By the time she graduated, ...

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Amina’s Story

Amina is 11 years old. This year was her first year at RAIN’s Agadez Learning Center and this is the story of how she got there.

Amina was born in the village of Tagalalt, northwest of Tchirozérine. Amina’s father has passed away. Amina has two older brothers from her mom’s first marriage, an older sister with whom she shares a father, ...

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Help Keep Hawa in School

We’d like you to meet Hawa.

As a young girl, her family struggled to make ends meet. Despite financial hardships, Hawa was one of the lucky ones – she got to go to school. She loved elementary school and succeeded there.

Then, Hawa faced a major challenge.

Imagine being a 12-year-old, starting a new school in a new city, ...

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Zeinaba Builds a Home

Zeinaba, a widow from Iferouane Nord, was able to build a room for her house so she can sleep better protected from the weather. Previously, she was sleeping in a room constructed of straw. Zeinaba’s success has given hope to her neighbor, Tahid, who lost her home in flooding. Tahid has the land to build and just needs the funds to do it. ...

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Maka on Starting Her own Store

Maka received a loan from one of RAIN’s Savings & Loans groups. She used her loan to start her own store – in fact, it’s the first and only store in her community. Maka’s store sells tea, coffee, couscous, salt, batteries, soup, sardines, and more. This is an ambitious step above buying and reselling a few products. It’s good for Maka and her family and it’s also good for the community. ...

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