North East Regional Initiative: A Lasting Legacy

FOREWORD

To the NERI team and our Northeast partners: It is with great pride that I write these words to honor the hard work of the NERI team and those in the Northeast who partnered with us on this incredibly meaningful project which has spanned over six years, improving and saving countless lives. I am grateful for the privilege of getting to know the members of the NERI team. I looked forward to all our discussions because their commitment to enhancing the lives of millions of vulnerable people was truly inspiring. Their stories and anecdotes painted a picture of the everyday hardships and fear that so many Northeast residents face, but also the creative solutions the team

K athleen F itz G ibbon Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria

developed to protect people and their livelihoods. Each small intervention represented hope given to people who had nowhere to turn. These inspiring projects demonstrate how things are indeed changing — even if on the smallest scale or at the most personal level. NERI has created beautiful partnerships. It has helped to create change in places where one would think change could not happen. It also has brought hope and bolstered resilience in communities throughout Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. We can see this change in the faces of the people in these photos. It has been an honor to be part of the NERI family. I burst with pride and admiration for the accomplishments depicted in these pages. Behind every smile I see the courage and commitment of brave, dedicated professionals who built trust and true partnerships in a very dangerous environment. The legacy of this program and the relationships that it created will continue to grow beyond this project’s lifetime. I salute our Northeast partners who will continue working to counter the damage being done by insurgents and terrorists and to build stronger communities in the region. There are not enough words to do justice to all the great work I have heard about. Let these photos remind us every day of our appreciation for NERI and our Northeast partners! — Kathleen FitzGibbon

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