Kristy’s School Improvements Project in Mauritania - The Beginning

Water Charity is working with Mauritania Peace Corps Volunteer Kristy Smiley on a project to provide needed water and sanitation facilities in one of the fourteen primary schools in which she works.

Kristy lives in Kaedi, Gorgol, Mauritania. She works with mainly with the 5th and 6th grade French speaking teachers. Science and math are taught in French, but everything else is in Arabic.

Mauritania is located in northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Senegal on the southwest, by Mali on the east and southeast, by Algeria on the northeast, and by the Morocco-controlled Western Sahara on the northwest.

The first part of the project is to provide a sufficient and cost-effective water resource to the school by repairing the existing well that is on school grounds. This will provide water for the students, as well as school gardens and tree nurseries.

The second part is to repair the school’s latrines in order to provide a safe and private place for the students to relieve themselves, as well as learn proper hygiene.

The school’s parents’ association will pay for 25% of the project in materials and labor.

This project is starting now, and Kristy will keep us updated. Your donation in any amount is urgently requested. If you use the Donate button below, your contribution will be directed specifically toward Kristy’s project.

To read about the progress of this project, click HERE

Suspension of Kristy’s School Improvements Project in Mauritania

Things happen. That is especially true when you’re a Peace Corps Volunteer working in a developing nation. Here is the gist of what has transpired:

• The Peace Corps pulled all volunteers out of Mauritania for political reasons.
• The project is suspended until the Peace Corps returns to Mauritania.  Hopefully, at that time, a new volunteer will be in a position to be located nearby and re-instate the project.

On August 12, 2009, the Peace Corps issued the following statement:

The Peace Corps has suspended its Volunteer program in Mauritania due to safety and security concerns. All Peace Corps/Mauritania Volunteers are currently in Senegal; they will not be returning to Mauritania. Although it is the agency’s position that the Volunteers are relatively safe in their communities and villages, it is potentially dangerous for them to travel safely in the country.

Both the Peace Corps and the U.S. Embassy in Nouakchott will continue to monitor the safety and security situation in Mauritania. The Peace Corps will continue to assess the situation and determine when the security conditions on the ground permit the safe return of Volunteers. The Peace Corps office in Nouakchott will remain open and all staff will continue to report to work.

All Peace Corps/Mauritania Volunteers, if eligible, will be given an option to continue their service with Peace Corps in another country. They can also elect to return to the U.S.

The Peace Corps has enjoyed a long history of successful partnerships with the communities of Mauritania since 1967.

Water Charity was in contact with Kristy as events transpired. Volunteers were alerted that the move to Senegal was likely, and then imminent. When she arrived in Senegal, she was advised of the possibilities, opportunities and decisions to be made.

Kristy took advantage of the chance to remain in Africa by accepting a post in The Gambia. We will keep you advised as she gets established at her new location. We are hoping she will submit a new project to us. In addition, we are hoping that, very soon, the Peace Corps will return to Mauritania and that work on the project Kristy started there will proceed.

To read about the beginning of this project, click HERE

Photo courtesy of Julie Ann Clark.