Earlier this year the U.S. Africa Command announced a successful construction project in the Comoros.
The ceremony marked the completion of a $500,000 project funded by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), providing eight classrooms and 10 latrines.
“Today’s dedication represents the commitment and respect of our two nations towards the idea that education is a key to reaching our future goals and dreams,” Losey said to an auditorium full of local Comorians and U.S. military members. “For many, many months now, the Comorian military and elements of the U.S. military have worked together, side-by-side, and have persevered and prevailed through many challenges to bring this school to fruition.”
My math might be a little rusty, and I know schools need all facilities, but I hope the majority of money was not spent on toilets. Maybe the Navy means plumbing when they say latrines. I wonder what the many challenges were. I found a clue in a report by Captain Joe BluBaugh, several months after the school was finished:
Next we traveled to a government-run hospital to review a project the MCAT (Maritime Civil Affairs Team) members designed to provide the hospital laboratory with running water throughout the day as they normally only have water provided through the city distribution system for two hours a day. The project will use a cistern that will fill up when city water is available to supply water throughout the whole day.
Upon arrival, the director of the hospital took us to their main water line to show where it had broken. Furthermore, the pump that supplied water to the hospital through the main line had overheated and was no longer functional. The hospital did not have the resources or expertise to fix either of the problems. Now the entire hospital was without a basic necessity. Situations like this make me realize how much we take basic necessities for granted.
In my short time on the continent, maintaining equipment and basic infrastructure appears to be a significant challenge facing many East African countries. Military teams forward deployed from CJTF-HOA, similar to the MCAT in the Comoros, are working with our partner nations to provide knowledge and build capacity to help address these challenges.
The importance of AFRICOM efforts should not be understated. Terror groups like al Qaeda are infamous for recruiting disenfranchised youth from Islamic countries that offer them limited opportunities.
The school story shows a relatively inexpensive countermeasure. Hopefully the American military is intent on helping ensure there are good reasons to want to stay in school; it is nice to see evidence of the US thinking about international security in terms of graduations, health care and economic development. Now, if they could just take the same view for national security.