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| KIRTACHI DORMITORY PILOT PROJECT
Kabey Fo is approximately 26 km from the village Kirtachi, where the nearest secondary school (grades 7-10) is located. Because of the distance to the school, lack of transportation and accommodations, the educational opportunities for the students graduating from Kabey Fo Primary School were at certain risk of being curtailed. To bridge this distance, Educate Tomorrow began developing a pilot program to provide Kabey Fo students access to secondary school by establishing a dormitory for them in Kirtachi.
As the Peace Corps began their plans to close out its development activities in the region, Virginia Emmons, Co-Founder and Director of Educate Tomorrow, approached Ambassador Jim Bullington, Country Director of the Peace Corps. She requested his support to use the former hostel in Tougna Lellea as a dormitory. The dormitory would enable the children of Kabey Fo an opportunity to attend secondary school. Although the facility was built by the Peace Corps, local and regional authority for land use could only be obtained with the consent of the Kirtachi Canton Chief and the Mayor of Kirtachi. So, in January 2006, with the full support of Ambassador Bullington, Virginia Emmons and Melissa McCarthy, also a Co-Founder of Educate Tomorrow, met with Kirtachi Canton  Chief, Amirous Issoufou Moumouni Dioffo, and Mayor Ali Djibo, who is the senior elected official of a large region along the
Niger River, to discuss the plan. During the meeting, the Mayor shared his vision for the region. Highlighting a small hand-drawn map, the Mayor hoped that one day the dormitory would enable all of the children from Gay in the north to Tondeye in the south an opportunity to attend secondary school. He officially granted land use to Educate Tomorrow and offered his ardent support to make the dormitory successful. (At left, Mayor Ali Djibo signs land grant with Virginia Emmons while Kabey Fo School Director, Alhadj Amadou, looks on.)
Beginning in Fall 2006, the Kirtachi Dormitory Project will provide a safe and supportive environment for students to further their education and increase their opportunities in life. Room and board, tutoring and educational workshops will be provided to ensure academic success and enhance life skills. The success of the pilot project will be evaluated and used as a model to expand the dormitory to incorporate other villages in the Kirtachi region in the future.
The goal of The Kirtachi Dormitory Pilot Project is to provide eligible students from distant villages access to and support for their successful completion of the secondary school located in Kirtachi.
Objectives
- Provide building maintenance, dormitory preparation, hiring and training of necessary personnel.
- Provide room and board for all qualified students to attend secondary school. (Students must pass a rigorous state exam to qualify. The pilot program provides support for students from Kabey Fo.)
- Establish & provide nightly tutorial sessions to support school curriculum.
Establish a dormitory garden and household chores to emphasis responsibility, time management and self sufficiency.
- Provide monthly environmental, agricultural and income generation workshops to compliment school curriculum and further life skills.
- Establish extra-curricular activities to enhance learning and quality of life.
- Establish partnerships with local government officials, NGOs and the local communities.
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