DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti — Doors are being hung on the girls’ toilets at Charles Facoud school so they can have privacy when they use the bathroom.

It’s one of the little jobs that the U.S. military hopes will pay big dividends.

“A lot of times the girls won’t attend school because of this,” said Marine Maj. Jeff Johnson, director of the engineering office at Combined Joint Task Force — Horn of Africa at Camp Lemonier.

Johnson’s troops aren’t sponsoring big projects here but are doing a lot of little ones, such as roofs, lights, doors and painting.

They’re putting Djiboutians, Kenyans and Ethiopians to work and hopefully making some long-term friends in the war on terrorism.

Asked if he felt it was a good use of taxpayer money, Air Force 1st Lt. Chris Mercer, one of the engineers, replied in the affirmative.

“It’s phenomenal,” Mercer said.

“Economically, politically and socially, this is the best dollar-for-dollar return the U.S. government could get, in my opinion.

“The things we do here influence so many people in subtle ways.”

The work tries to address common-sense needs.

An incinerator is being installed at the Dar El Hanan maternity clinic so a mother’s medical wastes after birth can be burned instead of tossed into the trash.

A wall is being built around Balbala school to make it hard for vandals and thieves to get inside.

“We’re very happy to be working with the Americans,” said Hassan Yusef, a contractor from Djibouti City.

“As long as they’re helping build the school for the kids, while also the money is coming in, we’re making two benefits at the same time.”

About 1,500 U.S. troops are stationed in Djibouti, a small, strategically important country in eastern Africa located across a narrow strait from the Arabian Peninsula. The U.S. military established a base at Camp Lemonier in May 2003 and mans it with members of the Marines, Army, Navy and Air Force.

The task force doles out $60,000 to $120,000 for most jobs, according to Marine Master Sgt. Todd Tekesky, though some are cheaper and some a little more expensive.

Jobs usually take between one and four months to complete.

There are 60 projects currently under way in various stages.

African contractors pay their workers $2.50 per hour, the going rate in this part of the continent.

The CJTF-HOA engineering office consists of six engineers and four contracting officers.

Their jobs are spread over an area about the size of half the continental United States.

The African contractors who are hired to do the work must abide by two rules:

They must hire local laborers, and they can’t leave behind scrap lumber, unused cement or other debris at the site of a finished job.

Besides that, the terms are somewhat looser than in a more modern business climate.

There are no exacting standards to be enforced.

The craftsmanship can be a little rickety, but at least the work is getting done.

“You can’t be complex,” Tekesky said. “You have to accept that things aren’t going to be done to U.S. standards.”

Business-as-usual can vary depending on the country or tribe.

In a part of Kenya, for example, a tribe might have someone who is “the contractor,” so that person is likely going to get the job.

The Americans don’t want to ruffle feathers.

“Kenya is very tribal,” Tekesky said, “and they’d prefer to keep it that way.”

While projects in Djibouti City benefit certain people, such as a school’s students, Mercer said projects out in the African bush make a more vast impact.

“There is no government out there — it’s all tribal,” Mercer said.

“The [projects] we do affect the entire community, the entire tribe. The tribe is their government.

“The relationships we’re building out there are doing a tremendous amount of good.”

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