Khaimaazrakh, Mauritania

During the month of September 2012, a summer camp was organised for Imraguen children by the International Foundation of the Banc d’Arguin (FIBA) in partnership with the National Park of Banc d’Arguin (PNBA), Photographers for the Planet (PPP) and the Association of Friends of the Banc d’Arguin (AABA) supported by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and Ecofund.

The summer camp took place in the National Park Banc d'Arguin (the PNBA) in Iwik village where 10 children (girls and boys) from 4 different villages (Iwik, Mamghar, Rgueiba and Teichott) were chosen to participate. This initiative was a follow-up of the awareness program on the environment "Discovering the landscapes of the PNBA" in the Turing project. This program took place during the 2011-2012 academic school year in the four schools in the PNBA covering the villages of Iwik, Mamghar, Rgueiba and Teichott. About 100 children benefitted from this program where several themes were taught (fauna and flora, human activities and the environment etc.) with the aim of getting the children to appreciate the natural and cultural richness of their heritage.

It was the first of its kind in the PNBA and provided the occasion for the children to, concretely, practise the activities that they undertook during the PNBA landscapes discovery program. Even better, it was also the occasion for introducing photojournalism training. This training was facilitated by Jean François Hellio. It was, firstly, to help Imraguen children discover the richness of their landscapes through photography, and then, secondly, to produce young photojournalism champions involved in conserving the natural and cultural heritage of the PNBA.

During 10 days, the children learnt how to use a camera and how to take pictures as well as how to write corresponding captions for the pictures. Each child also received a pair of binoculars for bird-observation activities.
In addition to the photojournalism training and bird-observation activities, the children participated in various enriching activities such as waste collection and disposal, outings to the sea to discover line fishing and a visit to the Island of Nair to learn about the issue of climatic changes.

The benefits of this summer camp can be evaluated at different levels: human, informative and environmental.
From a human angle, 10 children living in the PNBA who come from different villages met for the first time, mingled and created friendship ties. On the informative level, the children acquired some useful tools that they could later develop if they so wish.  Amongst these are techniques for using a camera and for taking pictures, basic drawing skills and the right attitudes and tool needed for bird-observation, for example. On the environmental level, the summer camp helped the children to have a different perspective on their environment and to understand the importance of protecting this latter.

In all, the summer camp is a project that can be appraised on two levels – short-term and long term.
In the short term, it helped in arming 10 children with different tools, teaching them different subjects and helping them to understand the different issues that presently stall conservation efforts.

In the long term, the summer camp would have fulfilled the wishes of all the persons that directly or indirectly participated in this great initiative – to produce champions in the service of conservation efforts in the PNBA ecosystems, and future adults capable of defending their protected environment.

This wish could well come true through a follow-up on this young reporters because in 10 days, these children made astonishing progress ; from discovering a camera to capturing successful images just like true photojournalists.

Enjoy some photographs of our young photojournalists !

Maimouna, an eco-guide; photo by Beibani 12 years old

Landscape of El Ain next to Mamghar village; photo by Cheinouna 15 years old

Garbage collection next to Iwik village; photo by Beibani 12 years old

During the week of 5th to 14th November 2012, a mission was undertaken to give out certificates to the children who participated in the summer camp as proof of their participation in the photojournalism training. At this occasion, each child was asked to cite three things that impressed him/her during the camp.

Children from the village of Mamghar:

Sovi 11 years old
1.    meeting other children, living in the PNBA, for the first time,
2.    sailing and discovering the Island of Nair, and
3.    learning to observe birds.

Bah 12 years old
1.    learning how to use a camera,
2.    discovering new bird species and learning their names during bird-observation activities, and also
3.    learning how to use binoculars.

Children from the village of R'Gueiba:

Sultana 10 years old
1.    hearing the story on shell piles was highly impressive,
2.    learning new things hitherto unknown,
3.    appreciating the surfing outings.

Cheinouna 13 years old
1.    visiting the Chami Interpretation Centre,
2.    being welcomed by Soukeina the owner of the tourist centre where we stayed, and
3.    visiting the Island of Nair.

Children from the village of Teichott:

Aminetou 14 years old
1.    meeting other children living in the PNBA like me. I know now that I can find friends if I decide to, one day, go to Mamghar, Rgueiba or Iwik,
2.    learning how to use binoculars to observe birds,
3.    learning how to take photos and now, how to use a camera.

Beibani 12 years old   
1.    meeting other children,
2.    discovering the Chami Interpretation Centre,
3.    learning about many bird species that I didn’t know before.

Enjoy the images taken by the children which showcase their own “view” on the Park’s biodiversity

Selected photos made by our young champions from the camp Khaimaazrakh:

Pelicans: Photo by Sovie

Sidi and the seashells: Photo by Ahmedou

Sailing to the Island of Nair: Photo by Aminetou

Living in a national parc: Photo by Chinouna

Living in a national parc: Photo by Donya

Our young champions from the camp Khaimaazrakh are cleaning the beach of Iwik.

Photo by Beibani

Ten children amongst them six boys and four girls, who benefited from the awareness program "to explore the beautiful National Park of Banc d'Arguin (PNBA)", participated from the 3rd to the 11th of September in a summer camp in the village of Iwik. These were the ten best children chosen from the discovery program who had been selected from the four schools in the villages of Iwik, Mamghar,  Rgueiba and  Teichott in the PNBA.

The aim of this camp was to deepen the children's knowledge on the fauna, flora, and human activities in the PNBA – knowledge that they had acquired during the discovery program.  The summer camp also aimed at incorporating an innovative activity into the Park’s program; a photojournalism training that was the main activity of this event. The training was provided by professional photographer Jean François Hellio. This training was to help the children appreciate their natural and cultural environment using a multimedia tool. The outcome is the possibility of telling a story through images while focusing on the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage.

During the nine days, the children successively discovered photography materials while learning the different uses of a camera and various techniques of taking pictures and writing captions for their pictures.
Under the supervision of eco-guides from the Association of Friends of the Banc d’Arguin (AABA) and the senior staff of the PNBA, the children participated in various activities such as bird watching, cleaning, and sea trips.  During these discovery activities, the children kept on practising their acquired knowledge in photojournalism. In addition, a drawing workshop was organized and facilitated by two painters,  Isabel Fiadeiro and Oumar Ball.

At the end of the summer camp, two champions emerged from the training, a girl and a boy. A certificate of participation was issued to each child attesting to their training in photojournalism. Soon, we will be publishing photos of our young photo jurnalists for nature.

THANK YOU !

On behalf of the Imraguen Children we would like to thank the eleven donors who contribute to strengthen the future guardians of the National Park Banc d'Arguin.

In 8 days we will close the fundraising for the photo-journalism workshop for our young champions from the National Park Banc d’Arguin, which is co-organized with the French wildlife photographer Jean Francois Hellio.

If you want to “invest” in future guardians of the Park’s natural resources and its ecosystems, don’t miss the opportunity and support this project, donate now!

Located in Mauritania, the National Park of Banc d’Arguin covers 12,000 km2, an area comparable to the territory of the Gambia, or 5 times the size of Luxembourg! Half land, half sea, the park is classified as a world heritage site by UNESCO, and is one of the most important in Africa. Dunes, mangroves, mud flats, reliefs or sand plains, the fascinating diversity of the Banc d’Arguin’s landscapes abounds with animal life. The Park is home to over 2 million migratory birds from northern Europe. The Banc d’Arguin waters are some of the world’s richest fish waters.

This rich biodiversity has been preserved thanks in particular to the Imraguen community, the fishing peoples inhabiting the Banc d’Arguin for centuries and the only authorized to use the Park’s natural resources. They are the guardians of the Park.
The Park’s natural resources and its ecosystems are threatened by overfishing, human development and climactic changes.
The Imraguen children, the champions of the project, will become photojournalists of their day to day life within a protected site: through images they will showcase their own “view” on the Park’s biodiversity and the challenges to protect it.

Join the Imraguen children of the National Park of Banc d’Arguin in discovering and sharing their natural and cultural heritage. Contribute to strengthen the future guardians of the Park’s rich ecosystems!

2 great news:
1.    We can buy the digital cameras and the solar chargers at a cheaper price than planned. Today the total project budget is of 1.500 euros instead of previously 2.500 euros.

2.    Our ecopartner, la FIBA, decided to contribute 1.000 euros to the project budget.

There are only 85 left for fundraising in the next final 8 days: hurry-up !

This rich biodiversity of the National Park of Banc d’Arguinhas been preserved thanks in particular to the Imraguen community, the fishing peoples inhabiting the Banc d’Arguin for centuries and the only authorized to use the Park’s natural resources. They are the guardians of the Park.

They founded the Association of Friends of the PNBA to defend the totality of the Park’s natural resources and its ecosystems, threatened by overfishing, human development and climactic changes. They like to transmit their traditional values and knowledge to their children, so they become the future guardians of the Park alike their ancestors.

Therefore, for the first time, the Imraguen organize this year a summer camp for their children called "the blue tent" - "khaimaazrakh" offering them the discovery of Park’s littoral. Join them by supporting the Khaimaazrakh project !