Peace Corps in Niger — Goals & Role

Explaining Peace Corps work in Zarma is one of the most challenging tasks a volunteer faces. Concepts like “helping people help themselves” are not common Nigerien sentiments, and finding the right words requires both language skill and cultural sensitivity. This unit covers the three goals of Peace Corps and the role of a volunteer in the community.

The Three Goals — Vocabulary

Zarma	English	French
boriyandi	better / to improve	ameliorer
kande	to bring	amener
labu	country	le pays
manna	goals	les buts
gayan	help	aider
jan ka berey	ignorance	ignorance
prozey	project	le projet
cawandi	to teach	enseigner
kan gonda berey	trained / skilled	formé / maitrisé
fahamey	understanding	la comprehension

The Three Goals — Sample Phrases

Zarma	English
Labu waney gakasinayan weyborey nda alborey cawandiyan fonday ra.	To help the people of other countries meet their needs for trained men and women.
Iri ga du ga faham nda aran namey iri go aran kwarey ra.	We are trying to understand you better by living with you and studying your language.
Berey kan iri kande newo si ban hal abada. Noru nda projey ga ban.	Knowledge we bring here will never leave. Money and projects do leave.
Boro ma dondon ni bon se bisa boro fo ma te ni se wati kulu.	Learning to do something yourself is better than having someone do it for you all the time.
Jan ka berey bisa cini kubey.	Ignorance is darker than the night. (Proverb)
Peace Corps manna hinza no. Manna ifo ka tamtam bisa ifo kulu — gakasinay da fahamey.	Peace Corps has three goals. The goals — what’s most important above all — are help and understanding.
Iri ba iri ma gayan weyborey nda alborey.	We want to help women and men.
Iri kande berey, amma dabari hinne kulu aran woney no.	We bring knowledge, but all the real ideas are yours.

Role of a Volunteer — Vocabulary

Zarma	English
saajo	bush
gaaksinay	help
dabari	ideas
boriyandi	to improve
fondo	road
haggoy nda	to take care of
namu	traditional

Dialogue 1 — At the Well

An old woman meets the volunteer at the well and asks for help with a millet grinder.

Speaker	Zarma	English
Old Woman	Fofo, anasara!	Hello, foreigner!
Volunteer	Fofo, ay maa. Mate ni go?	Hello, mother. How are you?
Old Woman	Baani samay. Ni si hin ga kande moulin iri se?	Fine. Can’t you bring us a millet grinder?
Volunteer	Moulin? Ay sinda noru moulin dayyan se.	A grinder? I don’t have money to buy a grinder.
Old Woman	Amma ni anasara no. Ni gonda nooru kayna!	But you’re a foreigner. You have lots of money!
Volunteer	Kala. Ay ma fahamandi ni. Peace Corps boriyandi dabari no ay gonda. Ay sinda noru. Ay sinda motey. Ay sinda prozey mo. Amma ay gonda dabari kan ga hin ga gaayan aran.	Wait. Let me explain. I have Peace Corps improvement ideas. I don’t have money. I don’t have cars. I don’t have projects either. But I have ideas that can help you.
Old Woman	Dabari se hinne? Iri gonda dabari iri bonse. Iri ga ba noru nda moulin.	What good are ideas? We have our own ideas. We want money and a grinder.
Volunteer	Haalli. Amma berey kan ay kande newo si ban hal abada. Noru nda prozey ga ban.	That’s true. But knowledge I bring here will never leave. Money and projects do leave.

Dialogue 2 — A More Natural Conversation

A second woman converses more naturally with the volunteer about their role.

Speaker	Zarma	English
Woman	Ni, anasara, ni go te ifo newo?	You, foreigner, what are you doing here?
Volunteer	Ay go ga goro nda borey newo, ga caw Zarma sanni.	I’m living here with people, learning the Zarma language.
Woman	Amma ifo se?	But why?
Volunteer	Zama ay ga ba ay ma faham nda aran. Ay kande dabari fo — fari dabari, kali dabari.	Because I want to understand you. I bring some ideas — farming ideas, gardening ideas.
Woman	Wala ni ga hin ga gayan iri ga boriyandi iri kaley?	Or can you help us improve our gardens?
Volunteer	Oho! Iri ga hin ga goru binde. Boro ma dondon ni bon se bisa boro fo ma te ni se wati kulu.	Yes! We can look into that together. Learning to do something yourself is better than having someone do it for you all the time.
Woman	Haalli. Kala iri sintin.	That’s true. Let’s begin.