Campaign Goals
I decided to create this campaign after reading about the little Leksseiba primary school in Mauritania, which is literally crumbling to pieces due to lack of basic repairs. The Madrassa Aid campaign name comes from the word for school in Arabic: “madrassa”.
Madrassa Aid is a simple campaign with a simple goal:
Raise funds to send directly to the schools to help them pay for repairs and supplies to lift the burden of struggling to survive so that the teacher can focus on educating and the children can have a better experience of school and a better start in life. The standard of living and average household income in Mauritania is pretty low by Western standards, and a surprisingly small amount of money can make a very big change, if placed in the right hands.
Leksseiba is just one of many tiny schools in towns and villages throughout Mauritania. If I could save them all I would do it in a heartbeat. Of all the issues in the world that crave our attention, it is the silent daily suffering of children that gets drowned out most often, yet these children will inherit this world and its legacy of problems from us. I looked for a charity already focussing on this cause and did not find one. So I decided that, one by one, I will find and campaign for these schools and their students. I will contact existing charities and non-government organizations and try to persuade them to include rural schools in their programmes.
I am based in the UK, where I can legally campaign to raise money without having to register as a charity. This is very fortunate, because I can’t afford to pay for charitable status or an accountant at the moment. Personal fundraising does require a certain amount of trust on the part of donors, however, so I am also talking to an established charitable organisation in the country via my contacts in Mauritania, to ask their help in processing donations for these schools directly through their bank account. Regardless of the sources of donations, I pledge to account for them all here on the website with complete transparency.
School has many memories and meanings for us all; it is our introduction to society, to the worlds of knowledge and learning, of interacting and sharing with others. What happens to a child in school will shape their adult life in so many ways. I want to try and help these kids become the best adults they can be. I also want to encourage schools around the world to contact Leksseiba Primary or other schools in Mauritania to send them greetings, words of cheer and support, perhaps photographs of the school and activities, or drawings from the pupils.
I hope you will help by joining this campaign, in whatever capacity you can. We need help with donations – even one dollar will help, so if you can spare it, please give it. We also need people to spread word about the campaign to raise awareness, or to get their children’s schools involved.
Monday 12 March 2012
Save Rural Mauritania Schools | Project to Save Rural Schools in Mauritania
