Nyima has just completed the Harvard Kennedy School of Government International Bridge Builders Conference. In attendance were many women and men from around the world who discussed their problems and the solutions they have discovered in their own communities. Nyima is here with me now, and will answer some questions for our blog readers:
This is the first time you have left West Africa. How do you like the U.S.?
It is a nice place. People are so friendly, though the weather is cold! People have been taking care of me in all ways.
What did you think about the Bridge Builders Conference? What did you learn that you will take back with you to Penyem?
What I learned from the Bridge Builders is something very useful. If I go back to continue with what I am doing, since I have been meeting many many lecturers who are very good, they are helping us to know how to move into the right channel on what we are doing. As I am working with women groups, it wil help me alot because I am trying to put them in the right channel in terms of development. What I learned here is that there are many people who are willing to help me on that - especially on the finance side.
Also, we have many women in my country who are needing help with that. They are needing money to help them. And the skills - we already know how to do it, but we want to improve on that - to have more styles - because the styles we are having are the only one. But we want to have more training in skills so that we can have more changes in the styles.
And the market is a problem. As I am the leader of the women in the district, I have been training all women on the same skills. We are going to have problems on the market side, when all the women can do the same skills. I can do it - you can do it - and who is going to buy it? If it would be possible to have a market outside the country, that would help the groups.
Here I learned a lot. I have been meeting students and discussing many things with them. I learned that education is very important because education changes everything. In our village, I support education and for Friends of Penyem to help children in their education - to have schooling up to high school, institutes, even up to university level. If the children are educated, they will be ready to changethe village in any way. So education is my first priority. They told us about Harvard, and how it was a small village. Imagine from that day to today - how the place has changed. It is because of education. If you want to help me help them, don't give me money for food, give me something to help me do something that I have - with my education, train me with something that is useful.
Friends of Penyem is giving scholarships to students in the village to help with education. What is the biggest problem for the women in the village now?
The biggest problem for the women in the village right now is water. We need to have clean water which we will use to drink, cook and for any reason. Because water is important. That will help women because most of them are not educated. In our work, we need water. We need more water for our work - especially in the gardens. If we have water in the village, you will see many people can have orchards in the compounds where they will grow bananas or even vegetables, and thet will bring a big change. Water is our first priority in the village.
Note: The pump in Penyem is not working, although Friends of Penyem brought a new pump to the village last year. Several engineers have been investigated the system, and it has been preliminarily determined that the solar panels, which are over 15 years old, are not powerful enough to power the system. Friends of Penyem is talking with local water companies, to find a solution, and, at the same time, is discussing with them the possibility of replacing the entire system, which will also create more capacity for the expanding village. As it stands, the water tank in the village is not large enough to meet the daily water demands of the villagers, and the Chief has implemented a rationing system.
During the May trip, Friends of Penyem volunteers will work on changing an existing building in the village into a library, where students can study and village groups can meet. How do you think this will help the village?
That will help the village because it will make boys and girls to have a chance to visit the library all the time and to study. And will improve their education. And it will give the children a chance to read all the time. And it will give the women a chance to have meetings inside the room where we can discuss many things about our work and the village. I think the library will help the village a lot.
For an article in the Kennedy School newspaper about Nyima and the other women at the conference, seehttp://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/03.01/05-womenchange.html
