Whilst a government is
technically in power in Niger, its reach barely touches the majority of the country
where for most there are not even basic services. Niger is in 189th place out of 189 countries and territories in 2019 when ranked in terms of life expectancy, literacy, access to knowledge and the living standards of a country with a
life expectancy of 62.42 years (2019). The average age in Niger is just 15 years old,
with just under half the population being aged 0 -14 years old.
Most of Niger's population live
in poverty and their homes are small mud brick huts, over crowded and without
any basic services such as electricity, sanitation or water. In fact, 64% of the country's village population lack
access to safe water, with what water being
available at risk of contamination due to an almost
non existent sanitation systems outside urban areas
causing many illnesses including diarrhoea and typhoid fever. Those who survive early childhood are at risk of exploitation and human trafficking for a life of begging, enforced working
in in gold mines, domestic servitude and also for working in agriculture and
stone quarries.
In fact an estimated 8,800 to 43,000 people in Niger live under
conditions of traditional slavery. This already bleak situation is compounded by
regular Tuareg rebellions
and droughts across the region that destroy crops and animals; their only source
of subsistence living. Whilst the volunteer sector in Niger is not well developed, there are a number of child sponsor programs in the country that focus on building schools, providing food aid and supplies such as seeds to
develop sustainable farming methods, improving access to safe water supplies and
providing care to orphaned and abandoned children. You can help when you sponsor
a child in Niger.
Child Sponsor Niger: SOS Children's Villages
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Child Sponsor Niger: WorldVision
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Child Sponsor Niger: Volunteer in Niger
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