Assamaou, Niger

"Honestly, my experiences with Expanding Lives has helped me a lot. Before I didn’t even like studying, and after the conference it was the only thing I thought about. Thanks to E.L I passed my BAC exam in 2014, and I have a purpose. Now I am in the military and I wear the military uniform of a Water and Forest Agent of Niger. I am Sargent Assamaou Ousseini Doka and I am a leader. Because training in the military, as a woman, you have to be really strong. During the training they will harass you, menace you, maltreat you, beat you up. It is the leadership classes in Chicago that made me a leader among the other women, my friends, who cried during the training. I feel like I have changed so much, and I like passing that on to my younger Nigerien sisters. My ambition is to become a superior officer. I want to be Colonel Assamaou Ousseini Doka."