Schools for Asia: Providing a better education for Mongolia’s Monk Boys

13 year old Enkhbayar in class at the monastery
© UNICEF Mongolia/2012/Sabine Dolan

Gandantegchilen Monastery, Ulaanbaatar. It’s early morning and still dark outside the Gandantegchilen Buddhist Monastery in Mongolia’s capital of Ulaanbaatar; the voices of young monks chanting their prayers can be heard.

The boy monks who live in this monastery come from very different backgrounds but all have been selected for a life of prayer and contemplation. Until recently, aside from studying religion and scriptures, the children here did not have access to basic education.  This changed two years ago, thanks to a UNICEF-supported initiative to reach out-of-school children.

Play for today: supporting children with disabilities

Zulbayar and Temuulen at a playgroup for children with disabilities
© UNICEF Mongolia/2013/Andy Brown

Temuulen is a nine-year-old boy with disabilities living in Nalaikh, a small town near Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia. It is a coal mining district, with a mixed-ethnic community including Mongolians and Kazakhs. Temuulen has a rare genetic condition that causes muscle wasting. The symptoms started when he was three and have got progressively worse.

Once a week, Temuulen attends a playgroup for children with disabilities at the local hospital, run by the Association of Parents of Children with Disabilities. There is one room with toys and learning materials for the children, and another for the parents to meet and socialise.  “I like playing with toy cars,” he says. “My best friend is Zulbayar.”

Photos: children with disabilities in Nalaikh

Temuulen and Zulbayar are nine-year-old boys with disabilities living in Nalaikh, Mongolia. Both boys attend a playgroup for children with disabilities at their local hospital. UNICEF is supporting the local government and Parents’ Association to help these children and their families.

To view the full photo captions, expand the gallery and click 'show info' in the top right corner.

Khuvsgul school children look forward to clean water and proper sanitation

Khaliunaa and Bulganaa outside their home with their parents
© UNICEF Mongolia/2013/Andy Brown

Khaliunaa, 13, and her sister Bulganaa, 9, live in Tarialan soum, Khuvsgul province. Their father Buyanbadrakh, 44, and mother Narangerel, 38, are herders living a nomadic lifestyle. They move several times a year in search of better pasture land for their herds. Their only income comes from their livestock. Life can be hard. The family live in a remote area in the north of Mongolia where the winters are harsh.

The family are in their summer home, a small wooden cabin on the steppe. “We have 500 livestock, mainly sheep and goats plus a few horses and cows,” Buyanbadrakh says. “In summer we live 12 kilometres from the soum centre. In winter we are further out, 28 kilometres away. This winter the snow was heavier than usual but we coped. We didn’t lose any animals.”

Picture imperfect: vulnerable families access social services

Naranzul (centre) with her family outside their home in Arbulag soum
© UNICEF Mongolia/2013/Andy Brown

Someone is missing from four-year-old Naranzul’s family. She lives in a wooden house in Arbulag soum (village) with her mother Otgontsetseg, grandmother and 11-month-old baby sister Saranzul. But she has no father. He was killed in a traffic accident over a year ago, when Otgontsetseg was three months pregnant with Saranzul.

“It was a real shock for me when my husband died. It happened so suddenly,” Otgontsetseg says, her voice trembling as she speaks. “My relatives helped a lot in those difficult days. At first Naranzul didn’t understand what had happened but now she is starting to realise. She says ‘my father has turned into a picture’.”

Photos: vulnerable families access social services

UNICEF is working with Arbulag soum government, and others throughout the province, to provide basic health and social services for at-risk families. This is part of our Reach Every District and Soum (REDS) initiative and broader strategy to address inequality by targeting the most vulnerable children and communities.

To view the full photo captions, expand the gallery and click 'show info' in the top right corner.