The fundraising lunch prepared by renowned chef Alain Ducasse, took place on December 3rd 2008 at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris. Her Highness was joined by a range of institutions united in a common cause such as Louis Vuitton, SIIFFA, AREVA, Groupe Georges V...
In total, 17 prestigious guests supported the call for charity and made financial pledges to a programme designed to improve the schooling provision in Ganguel, Niger.
CONTEXT
The area concerned is situated on the banks of the Niger river, on the Ganguel plateau in the North of Niamey. It is a 74 km2 area with 11,300 inhabitants in 10 villages. Children under 15 years old make up 47% of the population. However, only 55% of them benefit from regular schooling.
This is because there are simply too few schools in the area to service the needs of all the children. As a result, they have to travel long distances, which is often too costly for families with a subsistence standard of living.
Existing schools are considerably run-down and lack adequate facilities, which is detrimental to the quality of school work. Sometimes the very safety of the pupils is at risk (walls and ceilings close to collapse).
Moreover, half of the structures in question are straw huts which provide very little protection against adverse weather conditions (wind, sand and intense heat disrupt lessons).
ACTIONS
Thanks to generous donations, the following actions are now possible:
? Construction and equipping of two new schools serving an intake of 50 pupils each and construction of an additional classroom at the start of every school year, over the next 4 years. This phase will enable 800 pupils to be taught in conducive conditions.
? Construction and equipping of 22 neighbourhood classrooms (i.e. serving 1100 new pupils closer to home).
? Refurbishment works on seven deteriorated classrooms (refurbishment of roofs and ceilings, waterproofing, painting, equipping).
The programme will be carried out over 4 years, in partnership and with the involvement of, the Niger Government, the Monegasque government and beneficiary populations.
