Lean on Me!

I shot this picture on a trip to Maradi. Overturned trucks are a common sight on the roads of Niger. The driver of this truck noticed his truck about to tip over. He quickly found some timbers and propped up his listing 18-wheeler before it was too late.

Famous Sword with a Story to Tell

I was working on writing down some of the oral histories on the Tamajaq people in our area in order to encourage literacy. I was in a village named Suraka, and a prominent Muslim priest told me the story of the battle of Galma. It was a battle between the Tamajaq warriors and the French soldiers around 1900. The French had rifles while the Tamajaq only had swords. It was avery one-sided battle.

As the story goes, the morning before the now famous battle, a Muslim priest had prayers with the Tamajaq warriors and told them, "Today you die and you will go to Paradise."

The priest's prediction about their deaths was largely fulfilled. The hill on which the battle took place is now barren. They said that it was once a lush hill, but so much blood was shed on it that it is now dead.

The leader of the Tamajaq warriors, Elmaqtar,evidently led the charge toward the French. He was shot dead, but before went down he killed one of theFrench soldiers with sword that this man is now holding. This famous sword is more than 100 years old.

Coke is Everywhere...Mudshop that sells Coke in the middle of nowhere!

I shot this picture in a small town named Keita. This coke sign is attached to a mud building and yes, they sold coke inside. Sadly, this town doesn't have a church. If only the Gospel could spread as fast as Coke!

Life in the Bush...making butter.

This picture was taken while visiting our good friends in the bush. This was their cold season home. They built this temporary dwelling under a thorn tree for shade from the sun that is still hot at midday even in cold season.

The woman is churning butter in the gourd in her left hand. She has a switch in her right hand. This probably means that she just ran off some goats who were nibbling at the house.

Cotton in Madaoua...A mountain of cotton grown in Niger

We lived for 10 years in Madaoua right next door to a cotton plant. We never visited the plant until the plant director started attending Steve's English class. The director gave us a tour of the operation. He explained that Niger is not a major grower of cotton, but the cotton that is grown in Niger is of the highest quality. It has very resilient fibers.

The Algaita...A traditional West African instrument

This picture was taken on a day when the president of Niger was coming to town. The algaita is a type of oboe. It is a reed instrument that very few can actually play. It sounds a bit like a bagpipe to me. The father of the man in the picture was Niger's most famous algaita player. He toured Europe and the US demonstrating his musical talents. When the father died, his son has taken his place as Niger's most celebrated algaita player.