Donate to the Nomad Foundation

Loading…

Donate to one of our causes:

  • Sponsor Students
  • Tamesna Center for Nomadic Life
  • Cataract Mission
  • Motorcycle Repair Training
  • Traditional Birth Attendant Training
  • Drill the Well for Tamesna
  • Buy an animal for a nomad
  • Buy Jewelry
  • Sponsor a Matrone
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The NOMAD Foundation

seeking to balance cultural tradition...with economic opportunity

  • Home
  • Current Causes
    • Sponsor Students
    • Sponsor a Matrone
    • Buy an animal for a nomad
    • Drill the Well for Tamesna
    • Traditional Birth Attendant Training 2020
    • Motorcycle Repair Training
    • Cataract Mission
    • Nomad Gal Jewelry
  • Projects
    • Tamesna Center for Nomadic Life
    • Water
      • Wells
    • Food
      • Agricultural Development
      • Cereal Banks
    • Health
      • Medical Clinic
      • Traditional birth attendant and Healthcare Training
    • Education
      • Boarding School
      • Solar Fabrication and Installation
      • Schools
    • Work
      • Earthbag Building
      • Solar Fabrication and Installation
      • Women’s Co-ops
      • Herds
    • Mali projects
  • About
    • About the Nomad Foundation
    • Leslie Clark – Founder
    • Sidi Mamane – Niger Representative
    • Press
    • Nomad Board of Directors
    • Accomplishments
    • Awards and Grants
    • Friends and Partners
    • About Niger
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Facebook

DONATE NOW

Matrone program expands to Iferouane

November 19, 2018 by leslieclark Leave a Comment

After finishing up at Tamesna we headed out for the great unknown–even though I have been there many times, there are always many unknowns when you go to the dunes–(like are we going to get back alive!)  First we were taking our training to a new group of women.  We took along one of our experienced matrones, Fatima, to help us, thinking they would be more comfortable with a nomad who has been through the training.  We also brought Moussa, our token male member who is valuable in helping us interpret and testing the comprehension of the students.  For both of them who have lived as nomads nearby all their lives, they had never seen the dunes, or the mountains of the Air. Fatima is Moussa’s mother-in-law, so he took special care of her.

We took off from Tamesna in the afternoon for the 1 1/2 day drive over the most rugged terrain–jagged rocks, rubble, sand, dust–nothing that could be mistaken for a road.  At the end of the second day we roll into Iferouane and see a crowd assembled to greet us with a song, dance and (very welcome) cold drinks!

Aghali with a warm welcome-he has become the Nomad Foundation’s rep in Iferouane–organizing everything for us. He is also a brilliant jeweler.

Welcome to Iferouane

Iferouane set in the shadow of Mt. Tamgak is just on the other side of the mountain range from the grand erg of the Tenere–It is known as the gateway to the dunes.

Posing with the mayor if front of the town hall which they gave us to conduct the training

The students were fully engaged as one of them, Tan Alher, demonstrates clean and safe birth techniques.

Through four days of intensive training–every day at lunch we fall into exhausted sleep to build up energy for the afternoon.

But Moussa helps out with a bracing jolt of Tuareg tea.

The matrones are delighted when presented with their medical bags and supplies.

But they must pass their final exam before they are given the medicine they have been trained to use.

A happy class, supplied and ready to work. Assalama delivered a baby the night we finished.

The next day we gave them all certificates of completion of the program.

Spread the Word:

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • More
  • WhatsApp
  • Email

Category Mid Wife Training

Previous
Tamesna School 2018
Next
Potato Gardens

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

How To Help

  • Sponsor Students
  • Tamesna Center for Nomadic Life
  • Cataract Mission
  • Motorcycle Repair Training
  • Traditional Birth Attendant Training
  • Drill the Well for Tamesna
  • Buy an animal for a nomad
  • Buy Jewelry
  • Sponsor a Matrone

Posts From the Field

Friends running for Office

Help for Iferouane Students, Artisans, Seamstresses and Matrones

Malaria

Mission 2020–The work goes on during the pandemic

COVID-19 mission to the nomads

Our first local training mission in Iferouane

Niger

niger

Footer

Stay in Touch

We send occasional newsletters about our projects, events and efforts.

View the Nomad Gallery site

The Nomad Foundation, a US 501(c) 3 Corporation

Tax ID # 20-8170046

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.