Story type: Story

DAY 1 Our flights were very full, which makes getting any sleep a real challenge. Given the fact we took two night flights to get here, staying awake and alert is a challenge today.

The village of N’Guelbély, 170 km North of Diffa, is surrounded with sand dunes. Scattered houses made of straw look naked. The straw has been eaten by the few cows that survived the pastoral and food crisis which is currently affecting Niger, following a bad rainy season in 2009.

When the earthquake hit, Elizabeth Iniatus lost all her belongings and her house. She was among the many families from the Port-au-Prince suburb of Haut Miton who had nowhere to go. Her group ended up sleeping on the ground, in a field of sugarcane.

HAITI A foundation for hope

Hasana and Meimouna are mothers on the frontline of the food crisis blighting more than seven million people in Niger. They walked 8km from their village of Ratta in 40C heat to take their babies to the Goumbi Kano health clinic, Tahoua region.

Sharing the stories of Haitians struggling in the aftermath of January’s earthquake is a crucial part of CARE’s work to help heal and rebuild the nation. The woman who leads the effort to bring that information to the world could easily write volumes about her own life.

Niger is a country of contrasts. Rich in newly found uranium and oil but its people crushingly poor. Villagers wear beautiful, brightly coloured clothing against a desolate desert background, seemingly devoid of life.

In the village of Aloarchar, under the union of Porabari, Tangail District, there is a house, wherein is spinning a wheel of fortune – and wherein is brewing a remarkable story of transformation.

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