Mongolia

Blog Post:  Posted June 18, 2010, 5:15 pm by Jean Kim

Ed Roberts bikes ~300 miles for Mercy Corps/Baatar Hero!

Country: Mongolia

Baatar Hero friend, colleague and Liverpool football fan Ed Roberts will be participating in TWO insane bike rides this summer for charity: The Tour de Blast and the STP. For both rides, he will be raising money for Mercy Corps, towards the Baatar Hero goal.

Baatar Hero, is a team of six people driving from London, UK to Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia this summer raising money for Mercy Corps as part of the 2010 Mongol Rally.

Wish Ed luck tomorrow as he rides 82 miles and climbs 6240 feet of Washington elevation on the Tour de Blast. Wow!

Then in July, cheer him on as he rides the 200 miles from Seattle, Washington to Portland, Oregon (aka, STP) in just one day.

Fore more information, check out his Firstgiving page. Go Ed!

Coping with the Economic Crisis:

Blog Post:  Posted June 10, 2010, 12:05 pm by Lyndsey Romick

D-z-u-d spells "disaster" for Mongolian herders

Country: Mongolia

Topics: Rural, Livelihoods, Economic Development, Agriculture

Ever heard of a "dzud"? It's pronounced zuhd, and it's an extraordinarily harsh Mongolian winter -- the kind where temperatures plummet, animals freeze to death, and you can enter your house only through the roof because that's how high the snow is. Any Mongolian will tell you they're bad news.

The dzud during the winter of 2009-2010 was "a national catastrophe," according to Mercy Corps' Oidov Vaanchig, who's based in the capital of Ulan Bator. A shortage of grass during the preceding summer meant that herds of sheep, goats, camels, horses, and cows couldn't put on enough fat to get them through the winter. And herders didn't stock enough animal feed because the financial crisis cut into their cashmere sales. As a result, the unusually cold temperatures killed between 8 and 15 million animals. An estimated 45,000 people lost their entire herd.

A cow or goat skull in the Gobi Desert. Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

All those rotting carcasses have been a problem. Herders were unable to bury the dead animals during the winter because the ground was frozen, and burning the carcasses is too risky in Mongolia's dry climate. Serious health problems could result if the rancid flesh is allowed to decay and permeate the water supply. Mercy Corps encouraged rural herders to partner with local veterinary clinics to clean up the carcasses before disease becomes rampant.

We are also training herders to diversify their income so they don't have to completely rely on their animals for survival. Participating herders learn how to sustainably manage pastures and produce vegetables and dairy products while developing business skills in accounting, marketing, and risk-management. We are trying to get herders to share information on commodity prices, and trade knowledge-based skills with each other.

Better access to loans and markets can mean more income for rural herders and ex-herders. And if herders become less vulnerable to nasty weather, maybe the next time you hear about a dzud, the news won't be so bad.

Blog Post:  Posted May 28, 2010, 3:06 am by Jean Kim

Mongol Ralliers and Mercy Corps interviewed on New Day Northwest!

Country: Mongolia

On Wednesday I had the great privilege of representing my team, Baatar Hero — along with Christine from team Just A Steppe Away and Joy Portella from Mercy Corps — as guests on Margaret Larson's new show, New Day Northwest!

The Bataar Hero team, with Jean Kim at left. Photo: courtesy of Bataar Hero

Freshly back and armed with footage from our road trip to Colourado to meet the other North American teams, Christine and I answered questions about our upcoming adventure — the Mongol Rally — an annual 10,000 mile charity drive from London, England to Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. Joy, Mercy Corps' Communications Director, talked about some of the amazing programmes Mercy Corps operates in Mongolia, which benefit from the money that our teams and the rally raise.

Wait, 10,000 miles?!?

In 2004, the first official Mongol Rally (borne from a silly idea with a Fiat 125) only had four of the six teams make it to Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. This year, more than 350 teams will partake in the journey and, together, they will raise a million pounds (more than £1 million) for charities like Mercy Corps via fundraised cash and car donations upon arrival. Teams can take as long as they want and can take whatever route they choose. If it's your wish to go up and down Sweden, so be it!

The organisers want to make it as much of an adventure as possible. They want us to break down and scratch our heads in confusion. If we use gum to patch up any holes, all the better.

So the rule is to take cars with a 1.2 liter engine or smaller. Fees are issued and special permission is necessary for anything larger, though service vehicles are considered an exemption. If you can believe it, one year a team called "Great Balls of Fur" drove a big, red fire engine donned in fake red fur all the way to Ulaan Baatar!

Though primarily a rally with European teams, Seattle is home to the most teams in North America — 4 out of 44. In addition to Baatar Hero and Just A Steppe Away, our friends at Team Erro and Abandon The Cube will join us on the starting line. We'll be in our two Fiat Puntos that we are picking up in Manchester this weekend (thanks F5!) and not feeling too guilty about all carbon we'll be emitting since we have offset our whole journey (thanks TerraPass!).

Now all of this I wanted to say on New Day Northwest — but alas, nerves and time got the better of us. Margaret (former anchor for the Today Show and Dateline NBC, and perhaps more famously known to this audience as former VP of Communications for Mercy Corps) was a gracious host and invited us back to the show when we return with footage and stories. It was so much fun to meet her and get the word out!

Check out the full interview here — and talk to you all again soon.

Blog Post:  Posted April 22, 2010, 4:30 pm by Ruth Allen

“Don’t give us aid, give us a chance!”

Country: Mongolia

Topics: Marginalized Groups, Disability, Civil Society, Citizen Involvement

Congratulations to the Mercy Corps Mongolia team for winning the 2010 Disability inclusion Award given by InterAction!

Their work is living proof of how major strides for disability inclusion can happen rapidly with focused interventions and strong public-private-civil society partnerships. People With Disabilities (PWDs) are among the most marginalised groups in the rural areas of Mongolia where Mercy Corps’ programmes are implemented. In only 15 months since our programming with PWDs began in Mongolia, the team has had nationwide impact through major policy change and fostering a culture of inclusion.

Mandal Urtnasan (Civil Society Director) and Oidov Vaanchig (FIELD Project Officer) hold the approved “National Standards for Accessible Construction and Walkways,” which Mercy Corps helped a task force write for the government of Mongolia. Photo: Mercy Corps Mongolia

As an initial step, Mercy Corps established a diverse multi-agency task force of leading Mongolian organisations and government and private sector representatives to deliver advocacy campaigns designed to improve the accessibility of public buildings and walkways for PWDs. Insufficient access to basic infrastructure prevents PWDs accessing basic public services such as education, health and social welfare, as well as limiting their ability to seek and find employment.

By consequence, most PWDs in Mongolia are housebound and isolated from community life. The task force also studied the legal environment and worked with engineers to design accessibility guidelines that were then presented to the Mongolian government.

In February 2010, the "National Standards for Accessible Construction and Walkways" became enforceable under Mongolian law. Although approval of the standards will alone not automatically result in greater access for PWDs, they do create the needed legal foundation and provide specific engineering regulations for all current and future buildings in the entire country.

This policy victory has also motivated disabled people’s organisations to strive for the full achievement of accessibility for PWDs in all aspects of life. As a result of the Mercy Corps campaign, 23 accessibility ramps have already been built by government and private sector agencies at their own cost and several agencies have also modified their facilities to accommodate the needs of PWDs (including Mercy Corps ourselves!).

The Mercy Corps Mongolia team has shown that successful public education, advocacy campaigns, collaboration with policy-makers and other activities supporting PWDs can be designed and delivered by and for local people without significant external resources.

Approval and implementation of the new National Standards is only a first step in ending the exclusion of PWDs from social, economic and political life in Mongolia. Real change will only be complete when PWDs are accepted as equals with all people in all spheres of life. As one programme participant said, “do not give us aid, give us a chance.” Mercy Corps is committed to continuing its work with all people in Mongolia to help realize that dream.

Again, congratulations to Country Director Dominic Graham, Civil Society Director Mandal Urtnasan, programme team members Nasandelger Zandan, Oidov Vaanchig, Erdenesuvd Nyam, Dashzeveg Enkhtaivan, Chimeg Chuluun, Odkhuu Sanjaa, Saruul Orsoo and all partner organisations that made these efforts possible.

Coping with the Economic Crisis:

Blog Post:  Posted September 8, 2009, 3:14 pm by Roger Burks

A harsh reality for Mongolia's herders

Country: Mongolia

Topics: Rural, Livelihoods, Financial Services, Economic Development, Agriculture

I just listened to a piece on NPR (National Public Radio) about how the global financial crisis continues to plague one of the world's most remote places: Mongolia. Even though analysts are reporting that most markets have begun to emerge from the crisis, Mongolia's people — particularly herders, who comprise 40 percent of Mongolia's population — are still feeling the worst of it.

As a relatively isolated country that mostly exports raw materials like wool, cashmere and metals, Mongolia began to experience the crisis a bit later than other countries. But when it came, it hit hard: market prices for cashmere were suddenly cut in half because of lagging sales on the world market.

Faced with the harsh realities of the global economic crisis, Mongolian herders are having to make hard decisions to support their families. Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

Lower prices for commodities like cashmere have ravaged the Mongolian economy: today at least 25 percent of workers are unemployed, more than two and a half times the current unemployment rate here in the United States. In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital and largest city, wages for day laborers are down by 60 percent.

And, as in the United States, Mongolia's people — especially nomads — are struggling to repay loans that they'd taken out under much different circumstances. Thousands of families are now having to sell off their livestock herds, their source of meeting household needs and means of surviving the countries long, harsh winters.

For a decade, Mercy Corps' Gobi Initiative has been helping rural agricultural families diversify their incomes to survive crises like this. You can read more about some of the people we're proud to serve in Boundless Horizons, a series of stories I wrote after a trip to Mongolia last year. Mercy Corps programmes are helping 640,000 Mongolians — more than 20 percent of the country's entire population.

Of course I wonder how the many families I met on my journey are doing. Having seen their hard work and successes up close, I feel confident that they are handling the strain much better than some of their neighbors. Still, the harsh realities of life in Mongolia — weather, distance, isolation — are so much different than what we're used to.

Where most of us live, the global financial crisis has meant hard decisions on what we should buy. When we could buy it. What we could afford. What we should do without. But it has never been a question of survival.

Across the Gobi Desert today, survival is precisely the question. What will families do when their herds are gone but loans remain?

Blog Post:  Posted July 9, 2009, 2:36 am by Sansar

Work, Play and Learning in the Gobi Desert

Country: Mongolia

Late last month, I took a train with my Mercy Corps Mongolia colleagues to Dornogovi for a semi-annual meeting. Dornogovi is an aimag — the Mongolian word for "tribe," which now refers to the country's provinces — in the Gobi Desert with a population of just 57,200 people. It is located in a strategically important location to the south of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital, along a railway line that goes south to China.

The meeting venue in Dornogobi aimag. Photo: Mercy Corps Mongolia

Dornogovi aimag is connected to the country's central power grid, which isn't true of all rural areas in Mongolia. There is also a paved road being built — another rarity in the Gobi Desert — to Zamyn-Uud, the border town with China. Partly because of these things, the aimag's population is rising, which is different than other rural aimags where population is decreasing due to the migration of population to Ulaanbaatar.

It took us eight hours to travel the 450 km from Ulaanbaatar to Sainshand, the capital of Dornogovi. We often travel to rural areas, mostly by car, to visit our programmes. Compared to our previous trips, this one was much more comfortable.

However, there are always surprises in the Gobi Desert: the searing heat and sand storms made our lives difficult. It was hot in the train but, when we opened the windows, sand would blow in and cover everything — including the passengers.

When our journey from the capital was over, we stayed in a cozy tourist camp about 10 km away from Sainshand. The camp had everything we needed: comfortable gers (traditional Mongolian tent-dwellings), electricity, showers, good food and big rooms for our meetings.

Two colleagues talk outside a colourful ger in the camp where we stayed. Photo: Mercy Corps Mongolia

This meeting was organised for Mercy Corps staff from six of Mongolia's eastern and southern aimags: Suhbaatar, Dundgovi, Govi-Sumber, Umnugovi and Uvurhangai. A total of 40 people attended the meeting, which lasted for three days.

It was organised differently than our previous meeting, which were usually for planning our activities. This time we used this opportunity to provide training, team-building and problem solving. The first day our Rural Agricultural Support Programme (RASP) held a training for all of us, talking about their activities. The second day our Civil Society team took over and introduced to the participants what civil society projects are doing in the country, as well as what they expect from the rural aimag staff to do. The last day was mostly to hear from our administration, finance and human resource colleagues.

After each working day, we played sports. The aimag teams organised competitions like tug-of-war and volleyball. The Ulaanbaatar team won the tug-of-war by beating the team from Uvurhangai aimag. Volleyball was won by the Umnugovi aimag team, who triumphed over the Ulaanbaatar squad in the final.

It was good to get away for a while to work, play and get to know some of my team members.

Blog Post:  Posted June 9, 2009, 2:53 pm by Dominic Graham

Planting the Mercy Corps flag on Europe's highest peak

Country: Mongolia

Photo: Mercy Corps Mongolia

Batmanlai, a Mercy Corps driver from western Mongolia's Zavhan aimag, recently climbed to the top of Russia's Mount Elbrus. At 18,510 feet, Elbrus' peak is the highest in Europe. The mountain is notorious for its brutal winter weather, and summit attempts are few and far between.

He began climbing on May 14, 2009 and reached the top on the afternoon of May 17. The climbing was especially diffcult because of strong winds and cold temperatures. On the summit, he raised the Mongolian national flag, as well as Mercy Corps' flag!

Batmanlai is an experienced mountain climber, having climbed more than 21 mountains in Mongolia with heights over 13,000 feet, including Otgontenger mountain in his home province.

Congratulations, Batmanlai, on your latest conquest!

People and Projects:

Posted March 1, 2009

Supporting Projects in Mongolia

Country: Mongolia

In Mongolia, Mercy Corps supports rural communities and herding families through economic, educational and agricultural programmes. Over the past six years Mercy Corps has established a strong reputation across the vast Gobi region, and continues to work to ensure a robust economy that preserves ancient traditions.

In Mongolia, life can be extremely tough for rural nomadic people. With the fast pace of today's modern world entire communities are lacking vital skills and income to support their families. Mercy Corps is helping to change this by supporting rural communities and herding families through a range of projects that help them live an independent and sustainable life.

Mongol Rally 2008 and 2009

After last year's fantastic Rally Mercy Corps is on target to raise £100,000 to support our projects in Mongolia. With your support for the 2009 Mongol Rally our work will continue to help reach out to rural communities and help them lead improved lives.

The projects funded by the Mongol Rally are wide ranging, from setting up schools and building children's playgrounds to establishing youth centres and helping women find employment opportunities.

Here are a couple of examples:

Khentii: School Improvement Project

This project is working with a local school to significantly improve its facilities. So far the project has created a parents' committee to work with the students to highlight the priorities for the school. Together with Mercy Corps they have renovated the library and the sports ground and updated the central heating system- which was desperately needed during Mongolia's cruel winters.

Arkhangai: Unemployment Reduction

In the district of Arkhangai unemployment is rife with a huge number of people unable to support their families. Mercy Corps has started to address this by providing job training sessions for members of the community. There are now 40 previously unemployed people who are able to generate their own income and for the first time they are earning enough money to live an independent life and provide for their families.