promoting literacy, writing and publishing in African languages
Meet Yazi Dogo &
Hadja Aminata Djima
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Who is Yazi Dogo?
El-Hadj Abdoulkader Yazi Dogo was born in the Republic of Niger during the 1940s. He went through the French language primary school and secondary school in pre-independence Niger, and went on to become an educator in the early part of his career, and later moved up through the hierarchy in education. He was one of the first primary teachers to teach the new Hausa curriculum that was introduced into the public school system in the 1970s. During a visit to Niger in 1974, I was fortunate to visit his school and to be introduced to the methodology that was adopted in an environment where French had always been the exclusive medium of instruction. This was a pioneering effort that led to the introduction of Nigerien languages into schools throughout the country.
Yazi Dogo, or just Yazi, as he is known throughout Niger, is famous for his theater group which has performed for the past 30 years throughout Niger and West Africa. From comic through educational theater, he and his group have performed before heads of state, and before village children. Through the comedy and the laughter there are always deeper messages and lessons to be drawn from his work.
Please visit the African Language Materials Archive website to see video of El-Hadj Yazi Dogo and much more information.
-John Hutchison,
Coordinator, the ALMA Project
About Hadja Aminata Djima
(Madame Yazi Dogo)
Aiki Yanke Talauci is a Nigerien NGO which works to help women to fight against poverty and marginalization in a very challenging environment. It was created by Hadja Aminata Djima (Mme. Yazi Dogo) in 2003 as a micro-finance group. A group of women living in the quartier of the Filingué Road in Niamey, Niger took the initiative together with her. Since it was established, the women meet every week at the home of Hadja and Yazi to combine and share their resources. They are known also as the Groupement Cheto and they belong to MECREF, the umbrella organization for women's saving and credit.
The original groupement was converted into an official NGO by Madame Aminata in 2005 and renamed as Aiki Yanke Talauci, Hausa for "Working to reduce poverty"q. Madame Aminata has led this group beyond just the micro-credit activities toward a full curriculum of development-related training and awareness. The women and girls are trained and made aware of the health challenges and risks to their role in their society, including: AIDS, malaria, polio, early marriage, and prostitution. They also offer training in various cottage industries and manufacturing including soapmaking, porridge fabrication from yoghurt & millet, sewing, etc., among many others. Women are empowered through the opportunity to use their loans to produce products and sell them locally.
In collaboration with Hadja Aminata Djima and the members of Aiki Yanke Talauci, Boston University student Emily Nolan was able to record video interviews with 10 members of Aiki Yanke Talauci who were enthusiastic about talking about their experience in the organization, and how they have connected with the process of micro-credit lending. In this 1 hour video, all 10 of these women speak in their own language about their experience. The subjects appear in the video in the same order as shown in the Women of Aiki Yanke Talauci section. See the Women of Aiki Yanke Talauci Video.
In order to make this trip possible, we need to raise money to support their visit!
Contributions to help fund the travel and expenses of Yazi Dogo and Aminata Djima should be made payable
to Mother Tongue Editions and mailed to:
Mother Tongue Editions | 511 Main Street | West Newbury MA 01985 USA
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