Bababé

Contact: Zach Swank
Email: z.swank@gmail.com
Contact Information: environmental education volunteer

Bababé:

• one of the better ones in terms of openness to outsiders and French is more common
• He does not have a GMC. His village is located between Bogue and Kaedi (an hour in each direction), both of which do have GMCs... so perhaps those would be three good sites to work between

• Bababé is a wonderful town that is right on the border between between being a "small West African village" and a "city." Although it has over eight thousand people it still has the feel of a small village; say the name of someone's house and almost everyone knows where it is, the village elders still gather in the marketplace every evening, and when asked to describe their town people most often say it is like one family.
• Yet, at the same time the town is rapidly developing; two massive diesel generators were recently installed and now provide power from noon to midnight, it is rapidly becoming more independent from the two regional capitals on either side, and many local, national, and international groups are working together to improve the conditions of life here.
• With the arrival of electricity, internet is becoming available as well. There is currently a cyber cafe and small portable internet phones that use cellular technology and connect via USB are available at a reasonable price.
• The town very much has a sense of growth and forward progress. One of the other things people mention when describing Bababé is that the educational system is strong.
• There are three primary schools as well as a large middle school and high school
• Geographically the town is in the south of Mauritania, two kilometers away from the Senegal River and about fifty kilometers each from the regional capitals of Boghé in the west and Kaedi in the east
• The town is also its own department, which includes a number of smaller villages in the immediate vicinity