EAA Celebrates Opening of Vocational Centre in Mauritania
Doha, April 24, 2016 – The Qatari-Mauritanian Social Development Foundation, an organisation managed by the Education Above All Foundation (EAA), has celebrated this week the launch of one its key projects, the Al Imtiaz (excellence) Vocational Centre, which will create vocational education opportunities across several sectors for about 200 students in the first year. An EAA delegation led by CEO Mr. Fahad Al Sulaiti, travelled to Mauritania for the opening of the new facility and for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding.
The establishment of the centre is part of the Foundation’s efforts to help alleviate poverty and mitigate its negative impact in Mauritania. The Foundation was created in December 2004 by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the Office of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. In the intervening years, the Foundation has launched a number of projects to help address poverty in Mauritania, impacting thousands of people and significantly improving the literacy rate of women.
EAA representatives took part in the inauguration ceremony of the Al Imtiaz Vocational Centre and signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which the Ministry of National Education will manage the Centre. The ceremony was attended by H.E. the Qatari Ambassador to Mauritania, the Minister of Employment, Vocational Training and ICT and the Minister of Children and Family Development, as well as a large number of Mauritanian officials.
The Vocational Centre consists of 35 classrooms and an amphitheatre equipped with an air conditioning system and loudspeakers, as well as an IT station. It gives young people who missed out on secondary education the chance to receive vocational training in vital fields such as electrical engineering, renewable energy and IT, as well as corporate, bank and insurance management.
Commenting on the opening of the Centre, EAA CEO Mr. Al Sulaiti said: “It is an honour to attend the opening of this facility, which will make a qualitative leap in Mauritania’s vocational education and create a positive sustainable impact on the society. The many initiatives undertaken by the Foundation are aimed at taking a holistic approach to advance Mauritanian communities, by focusing on health and wellbeing and creating a skilled workforce.”
For his part, the Qatari Ambassador hailed the excellent relations between the two brotherly peoples and their leadership. Emphasising the importance of the new Centre, the Ambassador commended the Foundation’s achievements, which have served the poor in the cities and villages of Mauritania.
The Minister of Employment, Vocational Training and ICT valued this key achievement, which provides essential support for a sector that Mauritania gives special attention to as one of the pillars of sustainable development.
On behalf of Mauritania’s government, the Minister expressed gratitude for the Foundation’s initiatives, under the supervision of EAA, to support efforts seeking to alleviate poverty and improving the living and working standards of the most vulnerable Mauritanian communities.
Ongoing projects by the Foundation include the building of a hospital, construction of five vocational training centres, a literacy programme and funding of income-generating projects. The hospital, opened in February 2007, provides healthcare services to the population of the Boutilimit district and nearby areas. It offers medical treatment free-of-charge to victims of traffic accidents and dispatches medical teams to serve hard-to-reach populations in several neighbouring villages.
The five Foundation-run vocational training centres are located in Nouakchott, Sélibaby, Néma and El Aioun. These facilities provide a two-year certified professional training for nearly 468 students in a variety of subjects, including IT equipment maintenance, secretarial practice, cookery and hospitality, farming, veterinary science, trading and accounting. Since their establishment, the centres have created vocational opportunities for 1,458 people.
The Foundation has constructed a school complex in Boutilimit, consisting of a nine-classroom elementary school and a 36-classroom elementary and high school featuring a laboratory, a library and an IT station. About 2,702 schoolchildren are now enrolled in the complex, which was designed for children who were previously out of school and missing out on an education.
The Foundation’s literacy programme has almost 6,000 learners, 93 percent of whom are women. Many of the graduates are running small enterprises using grants from the Foundation. The students receive additional functional literacy training through the Foundation’s vocational training centres in order to help them better manage their businesses. To date, the functional literacy programme has assisted 5,487 people.
The Foundation, meanwhile, has financed 141 income-generating projects across several sectors including agriculture, sewing, and milling, improving the lives of communities in a sustainable way.
