I apologize for the delayed response. We have been confirming through all the proper channels that it is okay for me to go through with this. Thank you for your email and the interest you have expressed in the Peace Corps Girls' Mentoring Centers (GMCs) operating in Mauritania. I have also contacted volunteers who work in our schools and with various clubs to see if there is any interest for work at a school or other centers. I can send you more information if you are interested in these other possibilities. I know your proposals are due soon. We were latecomers unfortunately and we're playing catch up! The reason we are promoting the GMCs is because there is a chance at longer range sustainability. We would prefer to spread the benefits of this program rather than saturate one village, but really this would be great for any community in Mauritania.
We hope that your project is chosen to help us in our endeavors. We hope you feel up to the challenge! Mauritaniahas a reputation for being a difficult country due to the fact that it is so very different from our own, both culturally and environmentally. As a nation that is 100% Muslim, guests are expected to respect certain cultural norms (exchanges between men and women, observing a more conservative dress code, etc.). This is sometimes a hardship for our Volunteers, who live with host families and work closely with Mauritanians on a daily basis, but most learn to embrace the opportunity after the initial shock.
I am attaching a Google Earth file which shows where our GMCs are located in Mauritania. You need to have Google Earth downloaded in order to view the file. There is also a brief country profile pdf. I'm trying to find a way to send a powerpoint file, but it exceeds the gmail 25MB requirement.
In regards to your email, what to expect:
Living Situation
Team members would be welcome in most cases to stay with volunteers or host families if they are interested. Otherwise it is possible to rent rooms in homes or compounds for a reasonable rate; in rural locations, typically no more than 5,000 ouguiya/month (or UM) = ~$20/month (260UM ~ $1); in more urban settings, a room can cost up to 20,000UM/month = ~$80/month. If you choose to rent for the month, you will need to consider putting bars on windows and buying padlocks to reduce the potential for theft. Amenities depend on the site, many volunteers in rural areas live without electricity or running water.
Travel
Most people travel in public transportation, which is essentially a shared taxi. Rates depend on the distance for travel. To certain sites along the paved road, buses are an option.
Storage and transportation of the laptops
It is easy to rent a space for temporary storage in the capital city. Transportation can be done by a privately hired vehicle.
Language
More educated Mauritanians can communicate in French, but most often volunteers work using a local language (Hassaniya - a dialect of Arabic; Halpulaar, Soninké, or Wolof) in both rural and city environments. English is taught beginning in secondary schools. Most GMCs operate in a local language; Volunteers and mentors provide opportunities to improve French and learn English in class. Depending on the level of education in the community, mentors may be able to communicate in French.
Environment/Setting
Students in Mauritania, especially those in rural areas, are often older than what we would expect coming from the US. Students have various reasons to be kept from school; most importantly they are expected to help provide household income, which can interfere with school time. Currently all GMCs have access to internet via a USBinternet cartridge and monthly service that we have acquired through a local telecommunications agency (even in the most remote of sites!). For you to work with this, it would be as simple as purchasing the cartridge (we could help you with this very easily).
There are three types of GMCs in existence in Mauritania; the majority serve high school age girls. In rural locations there is often no high school, so the GMC works with girls of middle school age. Last year, volunteers began to work in "young GMC" settings; these are targeted at elementary school age (more likely the ones you would be interested in working with). GMCs vary in size; the smallest serves 18 people, the largest 300 (not rural). On average, each center works with about 36 girls. In order to work with us, your team would probably need to split up to work with a minimum of two separate communities. Ideally the computers could be distributed to more centers than that to reach more girls.
More about us...
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michiganto serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship. Since that time, more than 190,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in 139 host countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation.
The Peace Corps' mission has three simple goals:
1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
For more information on Peace Corps worldwide: http://www.peacecorps.gov/
Peace Corps Mauritania
The Peace Corps came to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania in 1967. Since that time 1,900 Volunteers have served in small and medium sized communities to provide technical assistance, promote understanding of Americans on the part of Mauritanians, and promote understanding of Mauritanians on the part of Americans.
There are approximately 130 Peace Corps Volunteers currently serving in Mauritania, making it one of the largest Peace Corps programs in Africa. Volunteers work in 11 of the 13 regions of Mauritanian in the following 7 program areas: health education, girls' education and empowerment, agro-forestry, small enterprise development, environmental education, information and communication technology, and English education.
Peace Corps Volunteers provide a unique niche in development, providing human resources and skills that can be critical to the successes of community based development activities. Volunteers are prepared with language, cross-cultural, and technical skills, which are used to work directly with the local people and communities. The skills are used to help communities to help themselves and also to serve as a functional liaison between community members and technical project resources, something that both communities and development assistance agencies (including governments) need, but are not easily found.
Girls' Education and Empowerment
We have 28 volunteers in the Girls' Empowerment and Education sector, which oversee the day-to-day operations of 22 Girls' Mentoring Centers (GMC), which serve over 1000 female secondary school students across the country. The GMC initiative is quite specific to Peace Corps Mauritania and is a cornerstone in our approach to supporting girls' education and schooling in a country where 50% of the girls enrolled in the first grade will not make it to the seventh (or the first year of secondary school) and only 73 girls out of 1000 will get a diploma enabling them to secure decent employment. Girls' retention and graduation rates in secondary and higher education represent a serious challenge for the Government of Mauritania.
Mauritania
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania gained independence from French colonial powers in 1960. The country is over 1 million km2 (roughly the size of California and Texas combined), with a population of approximately 3.3 million people. Two-thirds of the country is Saharan Desert. The majority of the population lives concentrated in the capital city, a large port (supports fishing and mining activities) in the north, and in the Senegal River Valley region in the south. Ethnic groups include the White Moors, Black Moors, Halpulaar, Soninké, and Wolof. Half of the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood, even though many of the nomads and subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s.