Happy Mother’s Day to mothers around the world. May this day celebrate every moment of motherhood, from the most amazing, to the funniest, the most devastating and challenging. I could not ask the universe for Read more…
Category: About Ariane Kirtley

My Queen of Queens
MY QUEEN OF QUEENS: (fifth in the grandmother’s series/Mother’s Day in France!) She is my queen, my perfect angel and little fairy. She is the person I long for during my moments of great jubilation, Read more…

Interview on En Sol Majeur: Le Fil d’Ariane
(May 19, 2018) Journalist Yasmine Chouaki uses sound and music to creatively reveal the personality, aspirations and work of guests on her radio show En Sol Majeur, aired twice weekly on RFI Radio France. This Read more…

First Steps
FIRST STEPS: In this photo, Mari and Abdoulkarim help Indima take some of her first steps through the streets of our neighborhood in Niamey. I find this photo particularly cute because I remember helping Abdoulkarim Read more…

The Gift of Water or Umbilical Hernias
THE GIFT OF WATER or UMBILICAL HERNIAS … no matter where or to whom, the gift of water is the one gift where you simply can’t go wrong. Here, Soriya helps little Zeinabou sip water while Read more…

The Guardian
THE GUARDIAN: Ibhahim with Soriya. Ibrahim is Halimata’s husband. Like his wife, he is our guardian angel number 2. We first met Ibrahim as the night guard where we lived in Niamey twelve years ago. Read more…

The Guardian Angel
THE GUARDIAN ANGEL: Halimata provides a comforting, loving knee for Indima, who is tired and sick, suffering from a skin rash. She is our guardian angel. Halimata — Marie, Cherifa, Abdoukarim, and Fatoum Zara’s mom Read more…

Kitten Rides Zorro
KITTEN RIDES ZORRO: In this photo, Soriya carries Mr. Kitten while he and Abdoulkarim enjoy their ride on Zorro our donkey. For those of you new to my feed, we enjoyed taking long walks around Read more…

Stone Carving
STONE CARVING: In this photo, Fassely admires the stone he has chisled while Ahoudan explains the next steps for shaping it. Ahoudan spent much of the afternoon teaching Fassely the art of carving soap stone Read more…