The school for children of migrants and refugees, set up in 2018 as an early response to the growing need, is the kind of program envisioned as part of the 210 million euro ($219 million) accord the European Union and Mauritania brokered last year.
The school for Nouadhibou's migrant and refugee children ages 5 to 12 runs parallel to Mauritania’s school system and teaches a similar curriculum as well as Arabic, aiming to integrate children into public classrooms by sixth grade.
Though many praise initiatives that fulfill migrants and refugees' overlooked needs, few believe they will be effective in discouraging departures for Europe — even the head of the group that runs the Nouadhibou school.
“We can’t stop migration,” said Amsatou Vepouyoum, president of the Organization for the Support of Migrants and Refugees, the city's leading migrant aid group.
None have said how much money they have spent on the school or on other programs aimed at migrants in Mauritania.
