Since I was little, I’ve always wanted to be an influential person who can positively impact my community. It’s because I grew up seeing my father doing politics and helping people around him whenever he could. I remember he said, “Education will make you a greater and more successful person.” Then, I studied geoscience at a university in Morocco, and became passionate about protecting the environment.
After graduation, I got involved as a volunteer in a youth organization that fights against climate change in Mauritania. My country is part of the Sahel region, an area strongly threatened by drought, rising sea levels, urbanization, and the deterioration of the living environment that accompanies them. Among those problems is the worsening living conditions caused by environmental ignorance and sometimes the lack of civility of certain inhabitants who do not respect the minimum rules of public health.
I have faith in the power of youth mobilization to bring positive change to our communities, so in 2017 I launched a virtual campaign on social media, including Facebook and Twitter, using the hashtag #Selfiembalite. “Mbalite” means waste in our local language, and this aimed to raise awareness about the state of unsanitary conditions in Mauritania. I took selfies next to waste on the street and shared them online. In less than a week, the campaign went viral. Everyone started taking selfies near waste on national territory and posted them on Facebook with the hashtag. Thanks to this initiative, authorities in Mauritania have reviewed the contracts of waste management companies and started to rework their strategies. Many young people have become interested in the environment, organizing cleaning days in their neighborhoods and on the beaches.
It was for me the beginning of the propulsion of my career as an environmentalist and climate activist on the regional and international scene. My goal is to launch a national leadership program dedicated to young people and women, encouraging them to positively impact their communities. And my dream is to see all the young people of my country receive a quality education, which will allow them to reach their full potential, and to see Mauritania among the cleanest and most ecologically friendly countries in Africa and in the world.
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