Just before Christmas, 50 project descriptions landed in the inbox. The sender: our partner in Mongolia.
The texts describe 50 small projects that aim to improve the well-being and learning environment for students at boarding schools in Mongolia. The projects cover a wide range of activities, such as setting up libraries and reading corners, teaching traditional games and crafts, strengthening social interaction, countering bullying and finding new ways for teenagers to talk about feelings, boyfriends and everything that comes with adolescence, even in rural Mongolia, where access to social media is now no different than in a Danish city. Benefits and challenges come with it.
The many projects are part of our ‘Better School Start-Better School Life’ project in Mongolia, where nomadic children and young people have to spend a large part of their school time in boarding schools/dormitories because their home is too far from the district school and because the home moves with the animals four to six times a year.
Each project has a fixed budget of 500,000 MNT, equivalent to 1,050 DKK, and involves students, teachers, parents and the local community. Activities are tailored to the needs of each school and take into account local traditions. The projects have clear goals and results to be achieved.
Project titles reflect the ambitions and dreams of students and teachers and vary from scientific interest to social awareness to mastering Mongolian traditions:
- We are the mathematicians of the future.
- We are little inventors
- Success through perseverance
- Crafting with salt
- Let’s plant trees
- Development through board games
- Let’s become masters of shagai (traditional game with goat or sheep ankle bones)
- My world of emotions
- Let’s help the girls
- Positive energy
- Smart kids without phones
The titles indicate local and traditional wishes and needs, whereas others could just as easily be formulated in, for example, a Danish school.
Positive energy and Let’s help the girls
These are projects that could almost as easily have been carried out in a school in our latitudes.
The ‘Positive Energy’ project from a school in Arkhangai province focuses on topics such as ‘loving yourself’, ‘safe dating’, ‘social media safety’ and ‘bullying’.
The project was born out of in-depth conversations with the school’s 9th and 10th-grade teenagers. After one of the courses, the following statements were made by a few of the students:
“This was an important course because it addressed problems that we kids can’t always talk to others about and pointed out possible solutions. For example, we learned how to recognize fake online profiles and lock our accounts properly. We also learned to use a method where we write down our feelings. At the end of the month, we can see if we have mostly positive or negative emotions, and if we are mostly sad, we should seek help early with a psychologist or social worker. I hope the students who participated don’t just listen and forget, but they use it in everyday life and make it a habit.”
T. Khishighuyan, a student in 10.b.
“It was a great course that hit us kids right where we need it most”. E. Erdenejargal, 10th grade student.
At another school, the ‘Let’s help the girls’ project, students and teachers have addressed the challenges that teenage girls and young women can face.
Here, issues such as sex and contraception, violence against girls and domestic violence are addressed openly. ‘Safe conversation corners’ are established, and all the older students contribute to a video about the issues, focusing on how to solve them.
We’ve gathered a selection of the schools’ photos, ranging from the more artistic activities to the serious debates.
Click below to view. Enjoy the video.
