We recently heard from our language tutor that Niger has declared that they are experiencing a famine. But we really don’t experience the effects of this in the city of Niamey. The people in villages may be struggling to survive, while the city (where we live) has food. This reality is difficult to understand, but nevertheless our family is not suffering for food.

Being mindful of this, one highlight for me is being able to buy local fruit, vegetables and eggs at the market. There are many roadside stands to choose from, but we have a particular stand that we prefer. It is a little off the beaten path, but we can find all of our “fresh things” we need there. Now that we are familiar, the vendor seems to know what we like and goes out of his way to keep us happy. I like to ask where the fruit is from, and buy what is grown in Niger whenever possible. Let’s keep this economy moving, I like to think to myself, one grapefruit at a time! 

Right now – it is mango season.

Look at all these mangoes!!!!

Try not to be jealous, but right now I can buy a kilo of mangoes (that’s about 3-4 of these beautiful mangoes) for 500 cfa = which is a little less than one American dollar!

Yum! Now I need some creative ways to eat them…recipes anyone?