Mauritania Before Indepedence

The Berbers were the first people in Mauritania. The country was named after the Berber kingdom of Mauretania. Mauritania has long history of battles, especially between the Berbers and the Arabs. Starting in the mid-13th century, Arabs moved into Mauritania and created many conflicts between tribes. Loyalties between tribes changed quickly and raids to capture blacks for enslavement started.

From 1644-1674 there was the Mauritania Thirty-Year War. This was the final unsuccessful effort by the Berbers to repel the Arabs. At the end of the war the social status in Mauritania was established at the end of the war. The Arabs placed themselves highest on the scale. Below them were the Berbers then the Blacks. The Berbers were divided into two classes, the zawiyas and znaga. The zawiyas are religious scholars. They helped the Berbers to retain some influence because they were teaching the history of the country instead of the Arab version. The Znaga were farmers and herders, composed primarily of tribes who couldn't defend themselves against Hassan or assert themselves culturally or religiously. At the bottom of the social ladder are the Blacks. They are also divided into two classes, the haratani and abid. The haratani are former slaves and the abid are still slaves.

In the late 17th century the French, English, and Dutch entered Mauritania. The slave trade became economically important to the Mauritanians, because they were given firearms, cloth, and sugar for slaves. In the mid-18th century the Dutch pulled out and the country was divided into four emirates. The country survived relatively peacefully until the 19th century when a civil war broke out between the four emirates. Tensions were encouraged by the French. In 1814, the Treaty of Paris gave Mauritania to the French without consulting the Mauritanians. Six years later, the official end of commercial slavery occurred. The British finally pulled out in 1857, leaving the country to be governed by the French.

France didn't begin to exert control over Mauritania until the early 20th century, and finally gained full control around 1934. The country was run primarily by tribal chiefs and emirs of the emirates. In 1958 Mauritania became a part of the French Community as an autonomous, but not fully sovereign state. In November of 1958 the Islamic Republic of Mauritania was proclaimed. Then two years later Mauritania became an independent state.

information from: http://lexicorient.com/e.o/mauritania_5.htm

Project Description

So previously I had briefly mentioned that my project was called Girls Education and Empowerment (GEE). Now that I've reread my assignment description I can better tell you what I will hopefully be doing in Mauritania. Keep in mind, I'm going to a country with limited resources, so the proposed description may only generally describe what I'm going to do.

GEE is a new project that was developed to extend efforts already begun by previous volunteers in the creation of Girls Mentoring Centers (GMC). A GMC is a place for girls to go after school or work to further their education and give them a place to learn skills necessary for life. In Mauritania there are fourteen GMCs that have been set up in just the last four years. I will be working with Mauritania educators and professionals in the managing of the GMC and the mentoring of the girls. My goal is to help the GMC develop and/or strengthen their link with schools and communities. One of the most important projects for me is to make sure that whatever I help set-up is sustainable after I leave. This will require that we use as many local resources as possible instead of relying on Peace Corps connections and funding.

The school year in Mauritania is organized in trimesters. First trimester is early-October to late-December, second is early-January to mid-March, and the final is early-April to late-June. They have a much longer summer break than we do. During the school year the GMCs are generally open 4 days a week, including Saturday and Sundays. On their school vacations I hope to find a secondary project to help the community.

When I first applied to the Peace Corps I wanted to work in youth development. However, I ended up being nominated into health extension. This project will give me the best of multiple areas. I will be able to work with youth at the GMC, the community in an attempt to create an understanding of the importance of girls continuing education, and maybe a little bit of health awareness. I am excited about the variety of possibilities with this project and look forward to getting started.