THE ADVANTAGE OF WORKING IN A NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP
In order to strengthen the collaborative dynamics of hygiene and health in the Commune of Sebkha, Caritas Mauritania, through its "Citizen Engagement" project, has set up four neighborhood groups led by young people and women, in collaboration with the town hall, the municipal youth council and neighborhood leaders. These basic federative structures provide a framework for promoting citizenship and spaces for dialogue and exchange between all residents of the neighborhood, all generations combined. They also offer the residents of these neighborhoods a framework to discuss all the problems they face and to find together the most suitable and realistic solutions. Among these problems, the health issue is the most acute in all neighborhoods.
It is true that occasional hygiene awareness and garbage collection actions are sometimes carried out by the populations, but they remain insufficient. These actions must be supported and consolidated in order to become regular, effective and sustainable.
To this end, a community system for collecting and disposing of household waste has been set up in the four neighborhoods, in addition to the provision of sanitation equipment and materials (all-terrain motorcycles, wheelbarrows, rakes, shovels, gloves, masks, etc.).
To ensure the viability of the project, measures such as zoning the municipality, raising awareness and involving the local population, and signing a tripartite agreement between the participating families, the neighborhood group formed by the "Citizen Engagement" project, and the town hall have been put in place.
This agreement defines the responsibilities of each party to ensure the smooth running and sustainability of the project, as well as the success of the challenge of making the Municipality of Sebkha clean by and for its residents.