Mauritania hosts over 2’500 urban refugees and asylum- seekers and almost 55’000 Malian refugees in and around Mbera Refugee Camp. Despite the conclusion of a peace agreement in 2015, large-scale returns of Malian refugees are not expected due to persistent violence in northern and central Mali. In January 2019 alone, 313 new arrivals were registered in Mbera Refugee Camp; the protracted nature of the crisis has prompted United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to engage actors critical to the strengthening of the humanitarian-development nexus. The refugee population in Mbera Refugee Camp is relatively young, with children (less than 18 years) numbering 32’653 (50.6% Female, 49.4% Male).
Out of a total of 32’653 children in the camp, around 20’000 are of school age. But according to UNHCR January 2019 statistics, 3’058 children attended primary school students (1’564 girls and 1’493 boys) and 353 students from secondary school.
According to findings by RET, poverty and cultural norms (early marriage and pregnancy, low perception of the value of girls’ education) are important barriers for girls’ education. Added to that are parent’s fears for girls’ safety on the way to school and in the school environment. There are cases of sexual violence against girls within the school setting that are even perpetrated by the school staff; though, there are no available statistics to document these violations. The forms of gender-based violence most prevalent in camp and in local communities outside continue to be child forced marriage, sexual harassment, female genital mutilation (FGM), rape and physical assault. While poverty and household socioeconomic vulnerability often pave way to child forced marriages, the latter is perceived as a ‘protection marriage’, protecting young girls from premarital sex, pregnancy outside marriage, sexual assault and rape, though in reality, it compromises a girl’s future by resulting in early pregnancy, interrupting her schooling and placing her at increased risk of domestic violence. Rape is often unreported due to mistrust, and the victims’ fear of marginalization, rejection and stigmatization.
Hence, RET entered Mauritania in 2019 to ensure inclusive and equitable access to educational opportunities, and provide protection services and tailor-made solutions, building on the field missions findings to address existing and/or recurring humanitarian, peace and development gaps.
Latest Project
Building Educational Resilience of Vulnerable Out-of-School Youth & Adolescents in Mbera Refugee Camp, Mauritania
Partners: UNHCR, UNICEF, Save the Children, LWF
RET is currently implementing the project “Building Educational Resilience of Vulnerable Out-of-School Youth & Adolescents in Mbera Refugee Camp” in Mauritania. The project aims to reach out-of-school adolescents and youth (refugee & host) to provide them with Secondary Education, Functional Literacy and Numeracy classes (FLNP), in addition to Protection and Psychosocial Support.
The project goal is to enhance the educational resilience and psychosocial wellbeing of out-of-school ‘vulnerable youth and adolescents’ who are not covered by any other organization in Mbera refugee ramp. In order to achieve this goal, improving vulnerable youth and adolescents’ access to accredited education, whilst developing teaching human capital in Mbera refugee camp is key, laterally, improving the psychosocial wellbeing of vulnerable refugees residing in the camp. RET will also provide protection services that build on RET’s field mission findings and are intended to address existing protection service gaps; and respond to the protection needs of vulnerable underserved population.
The forms of gender-based violence most prevalent in camp and in local communities outside continue to be: child forced marriage, sexual harassment, female genital mutilation (FGM), rape and physical assault. While poverty and household socioeconomic vulnerability often pave way to child forced marriages, the latter is perceived as a ‘protection marriage’, protecting young girls from premarital sex, pregnancy outside marriage, sexual assault and rape, though in reality, it compromises a girl’s future by resulting in early pregnancy, interrupting her schooling and placing her at increased risk of domestic violence.
RET’s intervention within this project aims at ensuring inclusive and equitable access to educational opportunities, in line with “SDG 4: Education”, through a three-pillared approach that addresses the gap in transitioning to secondary education of school-aged and over-age learners; focuses on bridging the qualification-gap and enhancing returns in the classroom through capacity building; and endorses “a gender-balanced approach” to youth agency pillared around cultivating leadership, in tandem with supporting youth resilience, as a conduit for conflict transformation and sustainable peacebuilding.
This project implemented between September 2019 and September 2020 was funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (BPRM)and implemented by RET in Mauritania.
