Letter from Ariane to Montessori students worldwide

Dear Montessori students worldwide helping to bring water to the Azawak of Niger,

Thank you, thank you. Thank you for the inspiration that you have brought to the Amman Imman cause through your activities filled with love and hope. Thank you for caring and loving your brothers and sisters that live across the ocean in a world unknown to you, and for taking precious time and energy helping to save their lives. Thank you for your beauty, and for believing that together we can make this world a better place.

Every day I go to the Montessori blog to feel empowered by you to continue to work hard and fulfill our common vision of life and hope for the Azawak. Your words and actions fill me with tears of joy and inspiration.

Although I was originally planning on being in Niger in December, I am still in France working with the Amman Imman team in Europe, Niger, and America in preparation for all the hard work that lies ahead in Niger. We have been very busy negotiating contracts with construction companies, determining construction sites through geophysical studies, and considering different infrastructure options.

Last week, almost every day I had the joy of coming home from work to beautiful packages filled with this same love and hope from the Odyssey and Oneness Family Montessori schools. I immediately called every member of our work team in the United States, Niger, and France to describe all the contents of the packages, from the post cards you have been making to sell, to the rosemary, to the letters of encouragement you have written me, to photos of the PeaceKeepers and students in Odyssey and Oneness, to the article on the Odyssey school "petite soap company", to the soap… the list goes on. Our entire team was thrilled and felt rejuvenated.

Your packages and messages that arrive almost daily on the Montessori blog are a true blessing and a source of deep encouragement. Work has been fulfilling yet difficult these past months. I find myself getting caught up in all our “business-type work”, which unfortunately creates a huge distancing affect between the work I am doing and the reality of the lives of the children of the Azawak. Your letters and packages helped remind me the purpose of our mission: to bring light, spirit, hope and life to our friends in Niger.

The hard and sometimes monotonous work is coming to fruition. We have even been successful building one borehole 40 km north east of our target region’s capital, Tchintabaradène. I will be traveling to Niger soon to complete this structure with a pumping mechanism, and am impatient to send you photos of children drinking water and celebrating life. In return to them, I will show them your letters and works of love. They will be so tremendously touched that children so far away care so much about them.

During the next few weeks, we will be meeting with heads of the best contracting companies to negotiate a partnership with them. I will take my tokens of love filled activities taking place among the Montessori students as proof of the movement that has begun in America. I will point out that even the smallest children are aware of the situation in the Azawak and being proactive to change this situation. I will make sure that the contractors understand that children around the world, from America to the Azawak, are counting on them to help us bring light, spirit, hope and life to our friends in Niger.

Once again, thank you. Thank you for the love and hope you bring to our world. You are beautiful, you are powerful, and you, united with the children of the Azawak, are my light and inspiration in this humanitarian endeavor.

Yours in love and gratitude,
Ariane
Amman Imman, Founder and Director