Families

In Niger we have had the joy to meet and interact with many families. Often we are quite cognisant of the differences in our lives and cultures, but sometimes we are also amazed by how alike we are, by how family, love and fun can cross cultural boundaries. It is amazing how even though our houses look different, our food tastes different and our customs are different, there are always commonalities. One of those friendships is with our friend Fatima and her family. She is one of 8 children who live on a lot just outside of town. They live in a tiny cement three bedroom row house and sleep outside most nights. They have a donkey who is hilarious. They are so welcoming and we visit often, enjoying tea, meals and much laughter. Our kids love to play with their little kids. I am thankful for families where cultural differences don’t really matter and are just the subject of interesting conversations, never the topic of anger or division.

We brought extra friends along for the evening and everyone chipped in to peel and chop veggies- even Arielle!

The kids love playing “the button game”. This simple game was made by Grandma Bev and we often take it when we visit friends.

Arielle and Oumou-Hani

Arielle loved holding baby Mouhamedoune

One thing that Tuareg’s are known for is their sense of humour and joking. If you are “family” the jokes fly and they are always laughing and mocking each other. So we decided to pull some pranks of our own. The kids have a great, realistic looking rubber lizard. We put it in all kinds of places and had fun scaring people. Here we put it in the tea box and then covered most of it with tea and gave it to Asku the team maker. He thought it was hilarious!

Asku makes some of the best tasting tea in Niger

Fatima is so beautiful – inside and out!

Mohammed and Bennett had fun catching chickens. Bennett would get close but then “chicken out” before actually grabbing one, but Mohammed could get the job done!

Fred playing light sabers with the kids

Light sabers are very popular no matter which culture the kids are from!

My sister in Niger, a precious student at our school and good friend- Fatima!