Mauritania: An ADRA Community Center Was Inaugurated in Nouakchott

The ceremony took place on November 23, 2021, in El Mina (a suburb of Nouakchott, the Mauritania capital), in the presence of the president of the West-Central Africa Division (WAD), the sub-regional supervisor of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), and local authorities.

ADRA Mauritania has just set up a community center in El Mina. The new, bright-shining center was built with 34,000 plastic bottles filled with sand. This is what forms the framework of the building instead of bricks or cinder blocks. The thermoregulatory building has three floors and totals 180 m² (over 1,900 ft²). It was made with concern for environmental protection and recycling of plastic waste.

The bottles were collected by young people of the commune in schools and embassies. Some of them were bought because they had become a precious commodity. The cost of the project was around US$117,000 (68,000,000 FCFA). It was co-financed by ADRA International and ADRA Belgium.

This initiative is part of ADRA's capacity building activities through education and training in small trades. 

During the inauguration ceremony, Dr. André Saenz, director of ADRA Mauritania, recalled the purpose of the center, which is based on three main pillars: "the health of the population; the learning of computer skills and languages such as English, French, Spanish; and the establishment of a multipurpose auditorium for educational meetings for the benefit of young people.”

Those present at the ceremony did not fail to appreciate the dynamism of ADRA Mauritania, with regard to its proximity to the populations, the availability of its volunteers, the relevance of its projects, and especially its expertise shared with other social organizations in place in the country.

The mayor of the locality appreciated the presence of ADRA in El Mina and promised to support its action, expressing the wish that "the young populations seize the opportunity of this community center to receive a holistic education that combines the mental, physical, and social". 

The young "talibés", as they are called here, find in ADRA a complementary resource to get them out of illiteracy and from the street, where they are accustomed to begging, violence, alcoholism, and especially smoking. Among them, the young Oumar Tall, responsible for an association that works for the integration of young people without diplomas, affirmed that "ADRA is an opportunity for young people".

As for the women, they appreciate the availability of ADRA for the education of young girls in a context where they are often marginalized.

Dr. Elie Weick Dido, president of WAD, appreciated the efforts made in the implementation of this project and congratulated the ADRA team for their dedication. He hopes "that the populations will appropriate this center of influence and that they will make good use of it." Pastor Same Vincent, director of Adventist Mission at WAD, who was also present at the ceremony, did not fail to praise this beautiful achievement.

The center will house medical equipment for primary health care, equipment for a multimedia center, language learning, sewing, and embroidery, as well as a library. Before the closing of the ceremony, an appeal was made to all for the equipment of this center, in the hope of seeing it achieve all its objectives. In Mauritania, which is an Islamic country the Adventist presence is made possible by the action of ADRA and recognized as a legitimate church.

https://wad.adventist.org/news_entries/592