Peace Corps Assignment

This is an overview of information about where I am going, what I am doing, and how I can stay in contact.

First of all I am going to Mauritania, or the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, or République Islamique de Mauritanie (RIM). It is a country located in North West Africa. According to the Peace Corps it is in SubSaharan Africa, but actually most of the country is in the Sahara Desert. It borders Western Sahara, Mali, Algeria, Senegal and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital, Nouachott, is located on the coast and Rosso, where I will be doing my first three months of training, is along the southern border with Senegal. The Richat Structure (pictured in the top of my blog) in the North is several large concentric circles on the ground which have been uncovered through erosion. Arabic is the official language, but French is also widely spoken. The population of just over 3 million is overwhelmingly Muslim (Sunni).

My assignment with the Peace Corps is as a Girls Education and Empowerment (GEE) agent. This means that I will be working at the Girls Mentoring Centers (GMCs) that have been set up by the Mauritanian government. The GMCs are set up throughout the country in the different regions, so depending on where I am eventually placed my job description will change. Generally, though, I will be conducting classes and activities that will facilitate the integration of girls into the school system. Traditionally girls have been left out of the schools and thus their attendance rates are much lower than their male counterparts. My job will be to use the GMCs as a place for the girls to become comfortable with and succeed in school. I will also be promoting gender empowerment for women in the community. My job will depend a lot upon the schedules of the girls and people who I am working with. For now that is all I really know and more details will come when I find out my final placement and begin working with the community.

While I am in Mauritania I do not know how much access to the internet I will have. The best way to contact me is to send mail. Make sure to write ‘Par Avion’ on the letter so that it is sent by air. You can send letters to the following address:

Christina Stegura, PCT
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 222
Nouachott, Mauritania
West Africa

My staging begins on June 15th in Philadelphia. There I will get vaccines and other shots as well as an introduction to the Peace Corps and Mauritania. On the 17th we leave for Mauritania from JFK airport. It is a direct flight to Dakar, Senegal and should take about 8.5 hours. From there I have heard that it is a long drive to Rosso.
After three months of training in Rosso, I have 2 years of service at my placement in Mauritania.