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Gantsetseg, 10, ©UNICEF/2015/Zetty Brake
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When the My
Family Program was introduced to Nalaikh, a peri-urban district of Mongolia’s
capital city Ulaanbaatar, in the second half of 2014, the aim was to help
children aged 10-14 to gain more life and communications skills and to build
character. While the very popular program achieved those goals, it also brought
families closer together.
Gantsetseg
became involved in the My Family Program when her fifth grade teacher introduced
it to the class. Gantsetseg completed all 31 tasks outlined in the program with
her family, including learning about her family’s history, time management,
nutrition and health and budgeting.
“I liked the
My Family Program,” she says. “All the tasks were good and fun. My five minute
challenge, where we had to see what we could achieve in only five minutes was
my favourite”.
The studious
10 year old, who wants to be a doctor or a singer when she grows up, lives in a
“ger”, with her mother Tsermaa, 31,
father Ganbat, 33, and younger sister Erdenetsetseg.
Tsermaa says her
daughter has changed since the beginning of the My Family Program. “She has
learnt a lot and uses that knowledge,” she says. “For example before she would
boil water and put it on the floor where her younger sister could get it. Now
she puts it up high to keep Erdenetsetseg safe.”
Tsermaa says
the program also had a huge impact on the family. “We did not really talk to
Gantsetseg before,” she explains. “We did not really listen to her or care what
she was talking about. But now, we listen and like to talk to her.”
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Baigalmaa at home
©UNICEF/2015/Zetty Brake
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Baigalmaa,
14, and her father Chinbaatar, 45, mother Munkhbayar, 40 and younger sister
Ouymaa, six, live in the same town as Gantsetseg in a two-bedroom apartment.
They also experienced the program bringing the family closer together.
Before
participating in the program Baigalmaa would spend her afternoons and evenings
on the computer and would not engage with her family. But this changed when
doing the program.
“When we were
doing the program we had to do things together, she would talk to us and not
use the computer so much,” Chinbaatar says. “The program raise a lot of
discussions. Before the house was silent. Even though the program is over, we
are still talking.”
Baigalmaa
agrees. “I find the relationship between my parents and me and with my sister
is warmer, closer and more open,” she says. “We started to really care about
each other. My parents are listening to me more, and I am really trying to
communicate better with them”.
The Program
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Gantsetseg and her mother in front of their ger
©UNICEF/2015/Zetty Brake
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The program
looks at developing practical life skills for adolescents aged 10 – 14 through
undertaking practical tasks at home with their family. While an initiative for
the National Authority of Children and UNICEF, it was implemented in Nalaikh by
the schools with the support of the Child and Family Development Department.
Naranbayar,
head of the Child and Family Development Department, says that reaching all
children in the targeted age group was a big aim of the program. “We really made
an effort to reach all the children we could including those who are
out-of-school and children with disabilities. We went to people’s home, gave
them the book, explained what it is and why it is important and asked them to
participate.”
With much
pride Naranbayar shares that over 93 per cent of children in the target age
group participated in the program. More important were the changes that the
program brought to the children, their families and the community.
“When the
program was completed it was clear that it had achieved a lot,” Naranbayar
says. “Communication between children and parents is much better, they spend
more time together, and parents got involved in what their children were doing.”
And the
program is having a positive effect outside the family home. “We are hearing
from teachers that parents are paying more attention to their children’s school
work, parents are coming to school and meet with the teachers and social
workers and they are engaging more in their child’s education, because of the
program,” according to Naranbayar.
UNICEF
Mongolia’s Adolescent Specialist Bolorchimeg Dagva says the program aimed to
help the often forgotten adolescents develop the skills they need to grow into
productive adults.
“The My
Family Program takes adolescents on a journey that will help them develop some
of the skills, values, abilities and experiences they will need in life,”
Bolorchimeg says. “As adolescents are social actors in their own right, the
program also empowers them to participate more within their families, schools
and communities.”
Next Step
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Baigalmaa with her family in Nalaikh ©UNICEF/2015/Zetty
Brake
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Given the
success of the program there is a lot of interest and hope that it will
continue in 2015. There are discussions about rolling out the program
nationwide and modifying it to include tasks targeted to vulnerable children,
including those not in school or with disabilities.
Naranbayar
says they want a program that targets older adolescents (15-17) with different
tasks that address the issues they are facing. She also wants to modify the existing program
to fit with the needs of vulnerable adolescents, such as at risk children,
children out-of-school and juvenile offenders. “We could guide them, help them
grow as a person and have the skills necessary to avoid or quit risky
behaviours,” she says.
Whatever the
decision, both Gantsetseg and Baigalmaa are very keen to be participate in the
program again.
Author
Zetty Brake,
Communications and External Relations Officer at UNICEF Mongolia
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