By Ibrahim Niandou, CARE Niger
It’s 10 am and a powerful sun is already burning the nature around Sayam "Forage", a village located 50 kms north of the town of Diffa, eastern Niger. Standing in the middle of a wide area of land devoid of grass and tirelessly swept by a warm and dusty wind, a CARE team is discussing the current food crisis with Maî Lawan, a pastoralist living in the area.
"Drought led to a complete lack of straw. Animals, which are our main source of income, cannot be sold at the market and they don’t produce milk anymore. Therefore, people also struggle to eat. CARE intervened by putting in place a stock of animal feed to be sold at a subsidised price to pastoralists. The money generated from the sale was used to resupply the stock but it is still not enough to meet the needs…"
While Maî Lawan is talking, I notice his son, Abdou, 20 meters further, walking around a calf, spread-eagled on the ground. I come and talk to him. After all, today is June 16, the day of the African child, initiated by the African Union.
Abdou Maî Lawan is 12, and is the only son out of Maî Lawan’s five children. Therefore, since an early age, his dad has been teaching him how to assume his responsibilities of family name and herd keeper. Just like his elder sister, who is not married yet, Haouaou, is taught by her mom how to assume the domestic chores, such as water supply for the family. As a consequence, both of them were not able to go to school. And anyway, the nearest school is located at least 20 kms from Sayam.
Therefore, every day, before 7 am, Abdou leaves with the herd, composed of more than 100 oxen, for the pasturage land. Three hours later, he takes them back to the watering hole. Then Abdou eats and goes back singing, probably perched on the back of his closest friend, the bull of the herd. On the way back, Abdou often plays at being a trainer with the animals. So, in a perfect symbiosis, he makes them run, jump or turn with precise gesture and shouts.
At these times, Abdou looks at his future. He sees himself married with a beautiful girl from the area, chosen by his dad. He also sees himself becoming the biggest pastoralist of the region, through the number as well as the weight and the strength of his herd.
"Now I fear that all this won’t be possible anymore," says suddenly Abdou, pulling gently the tail of the calf, dying at his feet, "two already died last week before the stock of feed was resupplied. Some people even lost more."
Under the begging eye of the herd of the family, Maî Lawan comes with us to visit the stock now full of animal feed and together we go and see Haouaou filling cans at the watering hole. With a big smile on his face, Abdou strokes the flank of this friend, the bull, with the impression of reassuring him on the availability of feed in the stock.
We leave Maî Lawan struggling for his tired calves to recover, and his son Abdou taking care of the starving herd.
Going to the next village, we keep on thinking about the enormity of the needs and the seriousness of the situation. We keep on analysing the proposals for tackling the underlying causes of poverty that Maî Lawan shared with us…