Skype Call with Ginger

Skype ID: tcaspice
Our Skype ID: mit.olpcorps

Start: 7:52 pm
End: 8:54 pm

Ginger is working to coordinate multiple teams to work in Mauritania
  • Ginger asked Paul Commons and he said that multiple teams to the same country is fine
  • We don't have to collaborate, but we do have the option.
  • Different groups in Mauritania are:
    • Group from Cornell looking at Tidjikja (2 guys)
      • One of the cornell guys has a brother in Mauritania--wanted to visit his brother and to do program. They were working on applicaiton without working with Ginger
    • 2 girls from University of Florida, probably up to Atar (north)- a few GMCs
  • Number one place is the region that we will be working in; includes Bababe
    • There are a lot of villages to work in
    • Most people are of the Halpulaar ethnicity
    • The community is really welcoming, probably more so than most other regions

Our ground contacts:

  • Kaedi: Matt Protacio
  • Boghe: Mark McMurray
    • Mark and Matt are both ICT volunteers--specifically work with computers.
  • Bababe: Zach Swank
    • Works in environmental education
    • Works with primary schools
    • Works with right age group with after school activities
    • Doesn't teach in schools because of languag but works with teachers on integrating lessons on environemental themes and free to do whatever: environmental clubs. Teach abuut pollution, planting trees.
    • Does as much as the school director allows
    • Zach has a really supportive community.
    • He won't actually know how many kids he'll have since the program will run during the summer
    • In Mauritania, everyone is nomadic. A little less nomadic in city. People will move out.

Ginger is organizing an Eco health camp (might incorporate into out program)

  • Health camp will be held at end of July (week)
  • invite 100 people to the one in Bababe
  • made up of 27 volunteers, 40 girls (2 girls coming from each center), and chaperones, mentors, teachers
  • Will send us proposal working on for this Eco health camp
  • Can incorporate this program into our program
Mauritania

Kids in School?

  • They will be out of school during the time that we are there

Educational System and the Peace Corps

  • Educational system is really bad
  • Government is corrupt
    • School directors are placed in their positions by gov. so are prone to corruption
      • Are known for selling everything--nothing ever makes it to the kids.
      • Every few years, national institute of pedagogy will rewrite books. They were supposed to given to schoolchildren for free. All books ended up on black market, people didn't realize that there was a difference.
  • Education is valued: 2 things people want for kids is computer training and girls educaiton.
  • GMCs are like the american school system insterted into Mauritania
    • Supported by the community and by the women's condition...some club
    • Originally an initiative started by special kind of funding--secondary project
    • Girls clubs, informal thing and then=> centers
    • Such a popular program that expanded and increased number of volunteers
  • Kids can't afford pens and pencils and books, so a lot of education is based on memorization
  • Have tried to start new initiatives: kids aren't allowed to be menial laborers, or be beaten
  • Teachers are unhappy--it's a government work
  • Teacher will be posted randomly--can be very unhappy
  • They just don't show up. School may or may not exist
  • Kids in rural places kind of go to school part time
  • Required to do work part time, so will get 12 year olds in 2nd grade. Illiterate etc. Huge range on education
  • Boghe has one of the most educated communities outside of the capital

Culture

  • Mauritania is not the most open country to outside intervention
  • Don't usually let outsiders in that easily
  • Peace corps has a really established reputation-speak local language, live with communities (2 year period). Government accepts. Peace Corps has memorandum of understanding with government-government will let Peace Corps do whatever they want
  • In this area (Boghe, Kaedi, bababe) volutneers have been working for a really long time
  • Men aren't around a whole lot-in the Moor culture-men go work for 9 months (commerce) and then come back for a few months. Family network is very big.
  • Peace Corps would be entrance into the community
    • They know all the community leaders, kids, parents
    • Peace Corps would make sure the kids would have the computer and that they don't disappear.
    • One of the things with Mauritanian culture is that whatever the kids bring back is the family's. The kids don't get to keep anything.
      • Parents would take it and sell it or use as display, so we would have to store the laptops or make it clear that they belong to us.
      • Store the computers at GMCs or make lending library, computers can stay when kids.

Communities around southern Mauritania where we would be working

  • He doesn't have a GMC
  • His community is so supportive that the school could be a place to house it
  • He would be our liaison
  • Kaedi--women are very strong. Regionally known for tie-dying.
  • Agrcultural, fishing communities, close to river, irrigation farming

Will the kids be busy working while we're there?

  • We're coming before rainy season (throughout July--probably come around July 20th) and the fields don't need protecting until something like September so it should be fine.

Internet

  • Don't know if usb cartridge could work
  • Could attach internet to the server
  • We'll look into options
  • Matt and Mark will look

Travel

  • Road is paved--no problems with flooding
  • 40 km to Boghe and Kaedi miles--an hour in each direction
  • There is public transportation between all the cities
  • We could quite easily work in 2 or 3 locations

Accomodation

  • We would definitely stay with host families, or with volunteers

Getting community/ adult involvement with the project to make it sustainable

  • GMCs--mentors that are already involved
  • Zach's community--adults will be willing to help
  • World Vision is another organization that works in that area. They organize a lot of children's activities and could help us organize adults
  • We will have a lot of volunteer support
  • Sustainability is hard, but once people leave, things fall apart
  • Peace Corps keeps projects going
  • Resources are not very good--Peace Corps needs more training guides that Ginger is writing

Facilities

Storage

  • The computers would be stored in GMCs or with Zach

Where we can hold our program

  • We can work in the centers or the schools
  • Zach is so on top of everything: he can find a place (a school etc)
  • We have a lot of freedom in terms of using the faciities

Ginger

  • Wrote her Masters Thesis while in Mauritania

Political Issues

  • About political situation: 4 generals have been right hands of president for 30 years and then they took it upon themselves to be the advisors. Democratically elected president since 1960 and there was a military coup. Military takes over.
  • Peace Corps tries to keeo away from working with the US embassy. They kind of recognize the interim government, watch out. Try not to talk politics--don't get involved.

Bababe--community is very good

  • There are two types of communities:
    1. Bring idea and have to fight to get people to go along with it
    2. Bring idea and everything gets done
  • Bababe is #2--really supportive of initiatives

Working in all 3 places

  • We could work in 3 places and have greater impact
  • If we divide computers evenly
  • We could limit class size, only taking this level at school
    • one class might be (2nd grade) 100 kids in it
    • Summer so might be a little less
    • If we have 33 computers=> 2:1 saturation

Power

  • During than time of year--power outages
  • Hot time of the year. try to minimize electricity usage---rolling blackouts
  • However, can usually guage when the blackouts are going to happen
  • Should be able to charge the laptops every day--don't worry about the solar panels in the budget

Educational Curricula

  • Curricula for the kids
    • We can integrate Zach's environmental teachings into the curricula
    • Matt and Mark are ccomputer people
      • Both have other volunteers in their sites
      • Has environmental education volunteer, english teacher, Health volunteer--health programs?
      • Boghe has english, health, and they have all the sectors
  • Can have lessons on health, women's education, english lessons
  • The main thing is internent access
    • Once they have the internet, they can look up practical information like nutrition information to the animals, etc.
    • So just being taught how to use the internet will be really useful

Letters of Support etc for our Proposal

Ginger should be herea ll week Pest training on Thursday
Before she leaves, she will make sure we're good
She will write up the letters of support (NGO and community) in french and english and get signed

  • The letter from community we can get from Zach, Matt, Mark
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