A Leader With Dreams and Determination

By Jennifer Burns

Since childhood, Ali Abdoulaye, CRS Niger's deputy country representative, wanted to be different. In this poor West African country, most people cannot read or write and would jump at a chance to leave. Ali has stayed and committed himself to the people.

Ali was born in his grandmother's house on Firgoun Island on the Niger River—the principal source of Niger's water supply. He considers himself lucky. "We had money, cows, sheep and rice." His father, a former member of the French Colonial Army, cultivated rice and raised animals. "I was cheerful as a kid. I ate well. I dressed well." Because Ali was his grandmother's favorite he always got the biggest portion of food among his four brothers and sisters.

Education was important to his father. When Ali's name wasn't on the government list to start primary school, his father insisted that it be added. At the age of 13, Ali attended a boarding school in southern Niger's Tillabery region. The school admitted only students who passed a competitive exam. It was here that his love of agricultural development grew.

"As a child, I remember seeing a man named Hassan Hama, who worked for the national agricultural institute, come through our village picking up insects, and I wanted to be like him," he says. He also remembers an engineer in the mining industry coming to the village. "He had a car, a driver, a cook. He came to prospect for mines. To this day, a friend of mine and I call each other engineer, remembering how badly we wanted to grow up and be like him."

Upon completing a four-year development planning program in Burkina Faso, Ali moved with his wife and children to the economic capital and breadbasket of Niger—the Maradi region.

The president of Niger chose him to coordinate all state development services in the region of Maradi. He was only 28 years old. After five years in the role, he wanted to move forward in his development career. He decided to pursue development studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

With his degree, he returned to Niger to coordinate a program between the Nigerien government and UNICEF. But the program came to a halt after the 1996 coup d'etat.

Handling Difficult Situations

With 27 years of experience in the development field, Ali started working for CRS Niger in 1997 as a program manager. Ali was named head of programs in 2000. For the next five years, he helped grow CRS Niger. In 2006, he became deputy country representative.

"I am not brilliant or an idiot but have gained a lot through my experiences facing many challenges and accepting a lot of responsibility at a young age," Ali says. "I needed to learn quickly. It's because of this that today I can handle difficult situations with a calm manner."

Today Ali is proudest of CRS Niger's malaria program, funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Ali helped shepherd the CRS office through the grant process. "This is a big move for CRS: managing a $40-million program that extends throughout the country working to fight the number one cause of death of children," says Ali. CRS became the first international nongovernmental organization in Niger to be a principal recipient of a grant this size.

There is no doubt that Ali is a key contributor to much of CRS Niger's success. "His wonderful cross-cultural skills, willingness to use English, and clear understanding of contexts—be it CRS, the government of Niger, partners, or the Niger environment—is a major factor in how our CRS team is able to work as successfully as it does," says Lisa Washington-Sow, the CRS Niger country representative. "It is easy to understand why he is a truly valued employee at CRS. He is a pleasure to work with."

Outside of work, Ali contributes to his childhood community through a brotherhood association that talks with community members about loss of farmland to desert encroachment, low school enrollment and other problems they face. The group also helps with special projects such as buying medicine for health centers and planting trees in schoolyards.

Jennifer Burns is a CRS communications coordinator based in Niamey, Niger.