Our grantees are generally disadvantaged by having high rates of illiteracy, being located in very remote areas, being physically handicapped, and other factors that may make one assume that their projects would have only limited success. That's not the case in Nigeria. Because our in-country staff give such good guidance, and because of the determination of the grantee organizations, our projects here do really well.
Here are some pix of one project that left a really positive impression on me. The grantee organization is a group of Fulani herders who sell milk from their cattle. Despite the low level of literacy among the members, their project is extremely well organized and really successful.
Our meeting happened in the milk shed that was constructed with funds from their grant. The women who milk the cattle bring the milk here before a large-scale buyer picks it up.
Also funded by the grant were metal milk cans that the women use to carry milk from milking point to the milk shed. Compared to the calabashes that they traditionally use, these cans don't spill as much milk and they're more sanitary. The man in the center of the photo at right is a rep of a Nigerian government-run organization that purchases milk from groups like this, and that also does a lot of development work with them. The work he and this group have done is really impressive.
From what I can tell about Fulani people in Nigeria, men and women have very distinct roles. I'm told that when this specific project started, women were shy to speak up in front of their husbands during project meetings, but that that's changed as women have taken a stronger role in the project. The women weren't quick to speak up during my site visit so I asked a few questions directly to them. One woman commented, "This project has been especially beneficial to the women in the community and we're honored to host a visitor from Washington who is a woman." That was a highlight of my trip!
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