As you probably know, Liz is posted in a rural village in Niger, one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, with over 80% of its territory covered by the Sahara desert. Liz' villagers are subsistence farmers who basically live on the millet they can grow and prepare. The women and girls in her village spend hours each day pounding grain in big wooden bowls with long wooden poles. This is their top priority, since no pounding = no eating. Hours of pounding leaves little time for women to care for their families' health and welfare. It also makes it difficult for girls to go to school. I took this picture when I visited her village this February, and you can see how young these girls are. The poles are bigger than they are!The women in her village have asked Liz to carry out a project that will change their lives. In response, Liz has organized her villagers to elect a committee to secure land and build a structure to house a gas-powered grain grinder. Once the grinder is installed, the committee will be responsible for collecting fees to operate and maintain the machine. This project will help village women develop organizational and supervisory skills that will elevate their status in the community. And, once they get some relief from the daily grind (literally!), they will have more control over their lives and more time to devote to improving the lives of their families.
In order to buy the machine, Liz needs to raise about $1900 from family and friends. As of this writing she still has about $1300 to go. The easiest way to contribute is to go to www.peacecorps.gov/contribute and select her project either by Project Number 683-164, or by her last name, Leemon. Liz hopes you'll take advantage of this opportunity to make a real impact (no pun intended) on the daily lives of those in her community. Thanks for your support.
