EDC to Partner on Food for Peace Initiative in Niger

EDC will partner with Catholic Relief Services on a five-year USAID-funded Food for Peace project in Niger. The project, which is known locally as Girma, meaning “dignity, prestige, and growth,” will reach over 898,900 participants in 500 communities of Zinder, Magaria, and Dungass. This activity will improve food and nutrition security and resilience among extremely poor, chronically vulnerable households and communities.

As part of Girma, EDC will work with local partner Community Development Assistance to deliver technical and life skills training to 12,000 youth, aged 12–24 years. These trainings will help prepare youth to generate income through securing employment or starting their own businesses. Girma will use EDC’s Work Ready Now (WRN) and Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) curricula. These programs include lessons to build soft skills and self-awareness, entrepreneurship, literacy reinforcement, and an accompanying component that links participants with real-world work experiences.

“Girma will add to the strength of the Niger communities to increase quality of life, economic opportunities, and self-sufficiency,” says EDC’s Tim Haskell, project director. “It will support communities to grow with dignity and pride in what they accomplish together.”