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Curious? Read on...
Since my arrival in September 2006, I have given Atar my sweat, tears,
enthusiasm, and ideas. The contributions I've made have been with my
hands, not my wallet. And I have emphasized time and time again: I'm
not a bank. I don't have money.
So what's this about a huge funded project you ask? Read on.
You
can read a detailed report here, but the skinny is: my schools are
public health and education nightmares. Latrines are caving in,
chalkboards are peeling off walls. The kids are taught to wash their
hands in facilities with no running water. And these shameful
conditions are flaunted before NGOs to solicit funds (read: handouts)
that never quite make it to local schools.
The Peace Corps
Partnership Program (PCPP) is different. PCPP provides funding
assistance for community-initiated projects and surpasses traditional
international aid mechanisms in several ways.
First, an NGO is
not dispersing funds from a distant office building. The design,
construction, timing, and funding is determined by local stakeholders.
Second, money is spent according to a predetermined project plan or
returned to the donors, avoiding any "redirecting of funds." Third,
because PCPP requires local funding, approved projects are
collaborative accomplishments and sources of pride for the community.
In
September 2007, with PCPP funding, my community will begin a School
Improvement Project. Plans include renovated latrines and chalkboards,
running water faucets, hand washing stations and school gardens. Small donations are welcomed and in fact preferred. Many people contributing small amounts is an indicator of a successful project (according to Peace Corps Washington and grassroots common sense). With
your contributions, we can fund improvements conceived, budgeted, and
built with Mauritanian minds and hands. You and I facilitating
locally-driven development: it's capacity building, it's sustainable,
it's Peace Corps perfect.
Interested?
Please donate here.
And thank you. From me, my kids, Atar, and Mauritania.