Mauritania

Basic Information

• Target areas of assistance: Aïoun, Aleg, Atar, Bababe, Boghé, Kaédi, Kiffa, Ma'al, Maghta Lahjar, Nouadhibou, Rosso, Sélibaby and Tidjikja
• Partners: NEDWA and the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps is responsible for all technical aspects of AGSP in Mauritania as well as in-country management.
• School year calendar: October - June

Program Overview

The implementation of AGSP in Mauritania is different from that of the other Region 1 AGSP countries. Since there are no school fees, uniforms, textbooks, or school supplies, resources are focused on providing mentoring activities for girls. The Peace Corps, in collaboration with a local NGO (NEDWA), implements the program through Girls' Mentoring Centers (GMCs). World Education initially had a consultant working as an in-country resource in Mauritania but following discussions with the Ambassador, it was determined that his services were not needed.

AGSP does not provide scholarships to girls in Mauritania. The program collaborates with the Peace Corps' Gender and Development program which has put in place 15 girls' mentoring centers throughout the country. Two new centers were opened in Aïoun and Mbagne. These GMCs across Mauritania provide private tutoring and computer lessons, art classes and creative days, yoga and other sports classes, sessions on effective study-skills, and health and AIDS seminars and other life skills seminars. Members of the GMCs are students from each regional high school and various elementary schools, and they are chosen according to motivation and participation, achievement in school, and entrance exams. Local female Peace Corps Volunteers, along with local partners, manage the centers. Locally successful professional women from different sectors (health — including HIV/AIDS education, information technology, microenterprise development, and agriculture) also participate in the centers' activities in order to mentor the girls and provide positive role models. These centers, along with other workshops and conferences, promote and facilitate girls' academic success and their attendance in school.