The ability to care shines out from the nature of children. When you express your care for something, children empathize, and reach out to share those feelings. When Ariane came to Oneness-Family School in October, 2006, she expressed her deep caring for the families she had lived amongst in the Azawak: her father, her sister, her children. We resonated with her feelings, and because she became our friend, the people she cared about became people we cared about, too.

This past week Oneness-Family School students presented the Amman Imman Project three times. On Tuesday, three 7th graders spoke at the Barrie School in Silver Spring, Maryland; Wednesday, four Peacekeeper students presented Amman Imman to the Oneness-Family School community; Thursday, the 7th graders and I traveled an hour away to Frederick, Maryland to the Monocacy Valley Montessori Public Charter School.

For each presentation, I began with an introduction, explaining how Ariane came to the Oneness-Family School and became our friend. Then the students explained the urgency of the need in the Azawak for water, how young children travel up to 30 miles per day in 125 degree temperatures to find a little water, how death and disease ruled their lives due to this lack of adequate water. They lovingly told stories about their friends in the Azawak, reminding their audience to keep in mind their suffering, even while seeing their beautiful spirit reflected in Ariane’s pictures. Through their words, our students demonstrated their deep caring, and illustrated Amman Imman’s plan to help these children. I concluded the presentation with how other schools and students have joined us, and told about recent progress of the project in the Azawak, including the functional completion of the first deep well and how this access to water has already begun to improve the lives of the local people.The deep caring flowing from Ariane through our students, the compassion inherent in the project, and the viable solution that Amman Imman presents to save and improve lives, moved each of our audiences. Students wanted to help and collaborate with us to bring water to the people in the Azawak.

At the Barrie School, a girl spoke with me about engaging in Amman Imman’s work as part of the service aspect of her Bat Mitzvah commitment. Another student, Maddie Thompson, left a comment on this blog:

I think this is a great idea and I will give lots of time into this! I have been doing things like collecting money for different charities. I have always wanted to participate in something much bigger!!

It was wonderful to hear the possibilities the students envisioned to connect their own lives to a greater purpose.

At Oneness-Family School, Luisa, one of our first graders, has been expressing an interest in helping since Ariane first talked to her class back in October. She and her mom are thinking about ways to fundraise. Eleanore, a student at Somerset Elementary who attended the presentation with some other girls from her Brownie troop, wants to organize her troop to collect coins in a jar, like the girl scouts in the Ascension School in Ohio.

At Monocacy Valley Montessori Public Charter School, the question and answer session lasted longer than the presentation itself. Students displayed their critical and deep thinking skills, exploring the various issues surrounding the plight of the people in the Azawak. Many expressed a keen interest in helping. Anna, a student in the Upper Elementary Class, wants to fundraise and present the project in other public and private schools. Alex, another Upper Elementary student, wrote an email to Ariane directly, expressing his desire to help, and she responded:

Dear Alex, Thank you for your message! I am thrilled to know that you want to help us save lives of children your age in Niger. I will be leaving for Africa in a few days, and so I'd like to put you in touch with Debbie Kahn and Maureen Keeling, two fabulous teachers working with students to help the people in Niger. Their students are already doing a lot, and they need help! You could do a lot together. Plus, if you have ideas of things to do on your own or with fellow students to raise awareness and money, and if you want to work to get your school to become a member of the "Montessori Wells of Love", that would be wonderful! Please be in touch with Maureen and Debbie, and thank you once again for your desire to help!
Sincerely yours,
Ariane

I feel that one of the most wonderful aspects of this project is that students have a rare opportunity to receive direct feedback, as illustrated above. This is because Amman Imman, while being large in scope and vision, is a personal undertaking initiated by someone who, despite challenges, cares enough to persevere. Ariane intends to tell her children in the Azawak that children around the world care about them. As our students present Amman Imman’s mission to other students, they learn to be caring and compassionate leaders while having a direct hand in changing the world for their friends, their brothers and sisters in the Azawak region of Niger.

Today I received an email from Ariane containing pictures of the first Amman Imman borehole! Ariane writes:

Dearest Friends,
My research assistant went to the Azawak and took some photos of our first borehole. The quality of the photos isn't super, but it shows the conditions, which we hope to improve vastly with our cistern and solar panels, as well as faucets and basins for the livestock.
Photos 1 and 2 show the children and men at the base of the borehole with their water jugs. In the background you can see a small cistern and a shelter for the diesel pumping system. In photo 3 you can see the base of the borehole, the cistern, and the shelter.
My departure with Denis is scheduled for March 1st. We had a small setback because of the war in Guinea Conakry, which took away plane availability.
Enjoy the photos!!
yours,
Ariane

As our students learn about water scarcity in the Azawak valley and the daily struggle of the nomadic people to find water, an awareness of our shared humanity is revealed. Although we live different lifestyles in climates and cultures that have diverse traditions, we are all human beings. We all need water. To know that the first deep well built by Amman Imman has already improved the lives of the local people as they use the flowing water to build adobe bricks for a school (see Water For Schools in Niger by Ariane on 2007-02-22) , brings a sense of immediate joy to our students, knowing that children like them may have an opportunity to learn and play rather than spend all their time searching for water just to survive. Children around the world understand that all children need to learn and play.

Students in Sylvia Hemreck's class at the Renaissance School in Fort Meyers, Florida continue to research and learn about the cultures in the Azawak region of Niger, how water scarity affects their lives, and yet how the deep spirit of the people sustain them even in their dire circumstances. The more they research, the more they understand what it means to be a human being.

These students are also planning a series of fundraising events in their community which will spread awareness and inform others about how they can join this effort to improve the lives of these resilient people as Amman Imman continues to build wells. Amman Imman will be highlighted in the school's March newsletter to parents, along with the activities that the students are planning.

A Month Without Water

A Worldwide Campaign
April 2007

A month without water. For those of you reading this it seems an impossibility. For our brothers and sisters in the Azawak region of Niger it is a reality, not only one month but nine months of the year. We hope to change that reality.

In our Montessori classrooms and in our homes around the world we need walk only a few feet to have access to water. Nine months out of the year in the Azawak region children must walk up to 30 miles a day for water; water that they must wait days for, water that is shared with livestock, water that often carries disease. Imagine nine months out of the year having no water in your home or your school or your town. Not only do we have ready access to water but it is clean and relatively inexpensive. We are truly lucky.

A Month Without Water is a simple program. We are asking for Montessori families around the world to consider what they spend per month on water. Most people probably spend about $30 per month on water, which amounts to about $1 per day. We are asking that in support of the people of the Azawak region you consider donating simply the equivalent of what you pay for water in one month. If only fifty families from each school donate $30 each that would be $1500 from one school. In many states across the USA, there are over 100 Montessori schools! If 100 of those schools raise $1500 each that is $150,000 which would cover the cost of one well! Together we can bring clean, readily accessible water to this region and give the gift of life! What an amazing gift to have the opportunity to give and what an amazing venture to be a part of.

Please join with us in this simple program to help bring life and hope to the people of the Azawak region of Niger.

To make your donation, please go to the Amman Imman website's donation page.
Download A Month Without Water brochure by following instructions in these posts.

Mission

The mission of Montessori Wells of Love is to engage Montessori students worldwide to partner with Amman Imman in building permanent water sources for the people in the Azawak region of Niger

Vision

Our vision is to foster the spirit of a new generation of leaders, who, through active engagement in a shared project of compassion and change, discover their own commitment to humanity.

Project Goals

• Maria Montessori’s vision, that real work brings real knowledge, will be actualized as students put study into action.
• As students study the culture of the Azawak region, share ideas with students worldwide and work collaboratively to raise funds, they will develop a global perspective, empathy and a deeper sense of purpose.
• The possibility of connecting Montessori students directly with children in the Azawak presents a potential for friendship and camraderie that goes beyond cultural differences, and kindles essential understandings of our shared humanity.
• Engaged in this meaningful work, students will emerge with a deep awareness of the global impact of individual commitment and the transformative power of social action.
• We envision that this alliance between Montessori students and the mission of Amman Imman will prepare students as leaders endowed with cultural sensitivity, compassion and courage.

In November 2006, on the last day of the Montessori Peace Academy conference, twenty Montessori educators met with Ariane in a brainstorming session to decide on the next steps needed to bring this movement forward into the Montessori schools. We decided that our goal would be to build at least one water source in the Azawak in the name of Montessori schools worldwide. This blog began in order to facilitate that effort - to connect schools and students, share ideas, and report on the progress of the project.

Now, we have named our partnership with Amman Imman: Montessori Wells of Love.

Maureen Keeling from Odyssey Montessori School in Fredericksburg, Virginia describes how that name came about: "Because of the love Ariane feels for the people of the Azawak, and also because the wells filling with water will contain the love from all the Montessori students and their families world wide."

We invite you to join our Montessori Wells of Love as we reach out with love to our brothers and sisters in the Azawak.

Ariane reports on the most recent developments in the Azawak where the first borehole well has been providing water for the local population. Read about it on the Amman Imman website by clicking here!

Island Village Montessori School's website prominently features Amman Imman on their home page. Mary-Beth Sullivan wrote this letter to parents at the school to tell them about their children's enthusiasm and enlist their support:

January 26, 2007

Dear Parents of Classrooms 11, 13, and 14,

My name is Mary-Beth Sullivan and I am one of the 3rd – 5th grade classroom teachers here at Island Village. At a Montessori peace conference in November, I had the privilege of meeting Ariane Kirtley, an international public health specialist spearheading the Amman Imman Project. In the Tuareg language, Amman Imman means “Water is Life.” Her story is one that I will never forget. She is working in the poorest country in the world, Niger, trying to save children’s lives by building wells for the people of the Azawak region.

On Thursday, your child viewed a movie called “Ryan’s Well,” thanks to Christina Rudd a parent in room 13. The movie was a true story about a young nine-year-old Canadian boy named Ryan who single-handedly raised thousands of dollars to build a sustainable well for a Ugandan school. After the movie, I told our students of Ariane’s story and they have all pledged to help her.

Today, you will be receiving a flyer detailing the Amman Imman project and information on the Azawak region of Niger. I am fully confident that this project is completely legit. You may also research the project’s website, www.waterforniger.org.

I have asked our students to think of fund-raising projects they can independently carry out. I am personally collecting the money to send it out to the Amman Imman project on February 14, 2007. I think this is the best kind of valentine to give others. Instead of giving candy that disappears quickly, we are giving relief to fellow human beings who are suffering.

My job will not be done in February. It is my hope that our students educate the rest of our students here at Island Village about our cause and create an even larger fundraiser for Amman Imman.

Thank you for your consideration and support,

Mary-Beth Sullivan
Upper-Elementary Educator

The children at Montessori Stepping Stones were very excited to see their school's story on the blog (click here for the story). Their teacher, Michelle Daley, encourages fundraising ideas to emerge from her students.

"Children are so compassionate.", reflects Michelle.

She tells us about their latest idea. "The elementary students came up with a cute way to collect our change. They have decided to use a large water pitcher! It's a great reminder of why we are doing this."

Sarah Genereux from Montessori by the Sea in the Cayman Islands plans to add the Amman Imman project to the contract of her Upper Elementary students for next week, intending for them to share their stories and comments on the blog, and brainstorm to plan the school's next Amman Imman fundraising event. So far, this little school of 100 students has raised about $1600 Cayman dollars which is close to $2000 USD!

Sarah sends us a wonderful story about a little girl name Marianne McMurdo who understands "The Value of Presents":

This past December, Marianne McMurdo had a birthday. Her seventh birthday party would not be ordinary however, as Marianne had made the amazing request of donations to help build wells in Niger in lieu of presents and toys. Marianne told me that when she heard about the Amman Imman project in class she said to herself, “I could do that. I can help.” Marianne’s birthday party managed to raise 200 Cayman dollars for the Amman Imman project; money that will help to bring water to this dry, parched land. Marianne noted that she didn’t miss the presents as her friends and family were there and that was what was really important. She also made sure that I would encourage other children to do the same if they felt inspired. “You’re helping people,” she said, “and that’s a present.”

Students have many great ideas about how to fundraise. When it comes from the students themselves, they can really take ownership.
Michelle Daly of Montessori Stepping Stones in Mt. Clemens, Michigan tells us what her students decided:

Yes! Please list us as a participating school. We have informed staff, parents, and students about Amman Imman and the elementary students have decided to host a hot chocolate fundraiser. The rest of the school is collecting change as well. Thanks for keeping us updated. The blog is wonderful!

The enthusiasm to present Amman Imman in Montessori schools, engage communities in fundraising, and promote awareness about the plight of the people in the Azawak region of Niger continues to spread:


After Patty Sobelman heard about the project, she became the head of Pines Montessori in Kingwood, Texas. Now her students and their families are getting involved:
I am so excited to present this to our families and have told our computer teacher about the blog. She is excited to work with our Upper Elementary students. So...please list us as a participating school!

Tim Seldin, President of the Montessori Foundation, interviews Ariane at the Montessori Peace Conference in Clearwater Beach, Florida, November, 2006.

• Listen to interview with Ariane here (Quicktime audio).


Ariane Kirtley
Amman Imman

Dear Friends of the Azawak,

I am truly excited to be sending this Amman Imman update to you, my dear friends of the people of the Azawak region of Niger. For around a year you have followed the developments that led to my founding Program Amman Imman (Water is Life) as part of my father's organization, The Friendship Caravan, following the year I spent as a Fulbright scholar conducting public health research in rural Niger. Many of you have volunteered hours and hours of your time to help, and many others have made wonderful financial donations to the cause. Today I have a few things to tell you. And over the next months I plan on sending you these updates on a very regular basis.

Before anything else, then, I want to THANK YOU! Thank you for your personal support and thank you for helping me offer a future to the children of the Azawak! Without your steadfast love and support, this program would not have become the bright star of hope that it is today.

There are so many things I would like to tell you about. And I will, over time. Especially about the partners that have joined with us, from Montessori schools to Rotary clubs to Royal Air Maroc, the Moroccan national carrier. And about the people that individually have given so much to our cause. And much much more!

I promise to share this wonderful news in upcoming updates. Today, however, I would like to focus on two pieces of exciting news.

Before I start, though, for those of you who may not be familiar with Amman Imman, I refer you to our main web site, www.waterforniger.org. In a nutshell, we are engaged in a campaign to bring sustainable sources of water to more than 500,000 people who have none, thereby helping them to preserve some semblance of their traditional lifestyle.

These people, mainly Tuareg and Fulani nomads, live in the Azawak, a vast plain the size of Florida that for the most part has been abandoned by the rest of the world. In this land of extreme hardship and surprising hospitality, there are no roads, no schools, no health centers, and most of all, no permanent sources of water. Even international aid groups venture into the Azawak with great trepidation, out of fear that their workers suffer from the lack of water.

The first news I would like to share with you is the publication of my first cover story, late last week in Yale Medicine, the magazine of Yale Medical School. Here you will find out how I discovered the plight of the Azawak, and how I came to the conclusion that someone had to do something to help these gentle and hardworking people. Here is an excerpt from my article:

"...When I threw a pebble into Mohammed and Gonda's well, I heard a faint thump, not the splashing of water. "How deep is it?" I asked. Two hundred feet, I was told, and no sign of water.

For six years Mohammed and Gonda's families from neighboring villages and camps in the Azawak plains of the Republic of Niger pooled their resources to dig an adobe well. Then they abandoned their efforts. There was no more money to dig deeper or to line the well with cement—the adobe well threatened to cave in. Even if the families had had the resources, it would take six more years to reach water. In the Azawak the first water table typically lies 430 feet underground, and renewable aquifers are at 700 to 1,400 feet. Because the people of the Azawak cannot afford pumps and pipes, there are few sources of water, and none are permanent or reliable because they dry up from overuse..."

To read the entire story, please go to www.yalemedicine.yale.edu, and click on "Water is Life".

The second news is much more important that any magazine article could ever be: working together with a sister organization in Niger that I helped found with my research assistant, Moutapha Alkassoum, named "Water For Life," Amman Imman is proud to announce that our first borehole was drilled late last year, in a locale called Tangarwachane. This is the same area I describe in my article, where I lived with my host parents Sadouan and Alhassan.

I had hesitated to tell you about this borehole until we could arrange for a permanent pumping system. We are working on this as you read these lines. In the meantime, however, we felt it would be criminal to drill for water and then not bring the water to the surface, when people are literally dying for lack of water. So we have settled on a temporary solution: we have place a diesel-powered pump on top of the borehole, allowing for water to be distributed to families who otherwise would walk hours and hours to find some.

Many of you know how much I dislike the "diesel-powered" solution. The pumps break down, and fuel is difficult to come by, and costly for the populations to maintain. For the next few months, however, it will do, a band-aid for an open wound. We are now studying ideas for the best permanent solution for the Tangarwachane borehole. We are looking into solar power and other solutions. We will also be bringing a gigantic rubber cistern to this borehole, so that the nomads will have a rudimentary kind of water tower.

Right now I am in France, working with my team here to procur the equipment we will send to Niger. I have also been delayed by a lingering illness brought on by my last trip to the Azawak. In mid-February I plan on returning to Niger and finish the job by the end of March.

Of course this is only the beginning. With your help and the help of many new friends yet to be discovered, my dream is to bring at least fifty water sources to the people of the Azawak.

I plan on sending you very regular updates of our progress and work. I hope that through these updates we can all live this beautiful experience together. However, if you would like to be taken off this list, please let me know. Or, if on the contrary, you would like to add people to this list, please feel free to tell me. Regardless, you can find out more information on the work of Amman imman at www.waterforniger.org and http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/water/blog.html. You can also find out more about the amazing Amman Imman/Montessori partnership by visiting http://montessori-amman-imman-project.blogspot.com/.

I am so excited to share and live this adventure with you.

Water is life, milk is hope,
Ariane

PS: As soon as I receive photos of the borehole in Tangarwachane, I will of course share them with you.