Think Creative - Issue 2

4 | Think Creative | Issue 2 updates from around our world Dispatches In this Issue 07 Dispatches Updates from around our world 08 // New skills for Afghan dairy farmers 09 // • Caribbean: Community asset mapping at work • Field Notes 10 // Proponte Más: Neighbors guide youth away from violence 11 // Nigeria: Healing communities with education 12 // In Focus: Elections in Somaliland 14 Cover Package Seeds of Hope for Farmers in Honduras’ Dry Corridor With new technology, farming techniques, crops and knowledge , smallholder farmers build resiliency in a difficult environment. When girls stand in the classroom to clap their hands or sing a song, I see beyond that. To me, it is an act of victory! USAID’s Northern Education Initiative Plus project is creating access to education and breaking socio-cultural barriers - one girl at a time. It is not just about the project numbers, it is about howwe are positively affecting their minds. I traveled to Sokoto state in northern Nigeria in July 2017 to visit schools and non-formal learning centers where the project is training teachers and provid- ing learning resources so children can acquire vital literacy and numeracy skills that can unlock a better life. In these rural classrooms, magic happened. Yes, the teacher taught, asked ques- tions and the children responded, but the project’s Mu Karanta! reading books were opening new chapters in the lives of these girls. I witnessed strong girls who were not afraid to express themselves - not afraid to laugh, not afraid to shout or even dance. In these moments, while singing songs from their books, they forgot the daily struggles of their lives, such as finding the next meal, avoiding an early marriage or walking several miles to fetch drinking water. I caught many glimpses of these moments on that trip, and they are forever etched in my mind. Indeed, the saying is true that if you educate a woman, you educate her family and community. To learn more, see page 22. snap shot Nigeria By Boco Abdul, Communications Officer Northern Education Initiative Plus Photos by Erick Gibson (top left); JimHuylebroek (left); Skip Brown (right) ON THE COVER: Photograph by Skip Brown for Think Creative . Juan Escobar is a beneficiary of INVEST-Honduras’ Dry Corridor Alliance – PROSASUR project. Seeds of Hope 14 p. Afghan Dairy Farmers 08 p. 09 ASSET Mapping 09 p.