Faces of UNICEF: Ulziisaikhan Sereeter, Early Childhood Development Officer at UNICEF Mongolia

Ulziisaikhan Sereeter, Early Childhood Development Officer at UNICEF Mongolia.
©UNICEFMongolia/2018/Sabina Netrvalova

What do you do in UNICEF Mongolia?

I work as an Early Childhood Development Officer and I oversee young children’s issues. I mostly focus on young children aged 0 - 5. For the age 0 - 2, I cooperate with other sectors like health, nutrition, and child protection as part of the integrated Early Childhood Development (ECD) program. For the age 2 - 5, I usually work with kindergartens and preschool education services.

Making early learning more accessible with ger kindergartens

Thanks to ger kindergarten, additional 20 children can access early childhood education.
©UNICEFMongolia/2018/Sabina Netrvalova

The kindergarten No. 189 in Ulaanbaatar’s Khan-Uul district is buzzing with noises. In the ger classroom, using the traditional Mongolian tent-like structure, children are running around, playing or singing. Two teachers taking care of them – Mrs. Amgalan and her assistant – certainly have their hands full.

The ger classroom was opened in February 2018 because of the insufficient capacity of the kindergarten’s main building. Thanks to the two connected gers, additional 20 children can now access early childhood education.

Chance of a better future with ger kindergartens

Minjinsor at the entrance of her ger kindergarten.
©UNICEFMongolia/2018/Sabina Netrvalova

“When I’m at kindergarten, I like to sing and play with Barbie dolls. I also like to play with all my friends,” says 5-year-old Minjinsor. She has a shy smile and short hair, newly cut during the Mongolian traditional hair-cutting ceremony.

Minjinsor is one of 15 children who left their overcrowded classroom in the main building of Kindergarten No. 8 in Ulaanbaatar’s Bayanzurkh district, and moved to a new ger classroom. Built in the typical Mongolian tent-like style, it is more spacious so the children can play more freely, and smaller numbers mean they can also enjoy the full attention of their teachers.

No more mold on walls: New bathrooms for kindergartens No. 122

The new sinks at kindergarten No. 122 are more accessible for children.
©UNICEFMongolia/2018/Mungunkhishig Batbaatar 

The brand-new toilets in kindergarten No. 122 in Bayanzurkh district of Ulaanbaatar city are sparkling clean. The bathrooms look bigger now and the sinks are more accessible for children. With over 880 pupils, the kindergarten’s bathroom facilities were in desperate need of renovations.

#EveryChildALIVE: Ochir from Murun, Khuvsgul province, Mongolia

2-day-old Ochir from Khuvsgul province, Mongolia. © UNICEF/UN0188803

Ochir, boy, weight 3.8 kg; 2 days old; born on 26 February 2018. Baby Ochir from Mongolia was born healthy. Thanks to the training his mother received, he was breastfed and kept warm after his birth with a blanket around his feet and a hat on his head (all babies in Mongolia must wear hats and are wrapped in a special way when outside). His mother, Zolzaya Baasanjav, 18, is a student. His father is Tserentogtokh and he is 18 years old. Both live in Murun City. Ochir is their first child.

#EveryChildALIVE: Saruulgerel from Murun, Khuvsgul province, Mongolia

Baby Saruulgerel G. from Khuvsgul province, Mongolia © UNICEF/UN0188818

Baby Saruulgerel from Mongolia was delivered by a skilled midwife. Her mother almost suffered a miscarriage, but thanks to the care and advice of a midwife, she went home and rested. The bleeding stopped, and when the time came, the delivery went well. Her mother, Dashnyam Ganbaatar, 23 and the father, Ganchuluun Baatarchuluu, 29 are unemployed and live in Murun city. They have two children.

#EveryChildALIVE: Sugar-Ochir from Tosontsengel soum, Khuvsgul province, Mongolia

5-day-old Sugar-Ochir from Khuvsgul province, Mongolia. © UNICEF/UN0188808 

Sugar-Ochir from Mongolia was born via C-section. His mother is a herder. Her previous babies were born in a very cold and dark room. Thanks to the heated health centre and the micronutrients she took, she delivered Sugar-Ochir feeling warm, and did not feel tired during the pregnancy (iron deficiency can make women feel exhausted and depleted). She said the pills changed her and her baby’s life. His mother, Namjilmaa Naransuren, 38, and the father, Lkagvadorji Dashdavaa are herders, and they live in Tosontsengel soum (subprovince), some 60 km away from the province centre, Murun. The family has 3 boys (aged 18 and 16, and the newborn baby).

#EveryChildALIVE: Uuriintsolmon from Murun, Khuvsgul province, Mongolia

©UNICEF/UN0204329

Uuriintsolmon from Mongolia was born healthy and, unlike her older sister, remained in good health after her birth. Thanks to the home-care training received with the support of UNICEF, her mother did not make the same mistakes: Her sister had jaundice as a baby – her mother thought she was going to die. She also had a rash and small cuts on her arm because her mother did not bathe her frequently, and she suffered from constant colds because the house was not ventilated. Thanks to the nutrition training, Uuriintsolmon's milk is healthier (Mongolians believe meat, bread and cookies stimulate breastmilk production, while vegetables are better.) Her mother, Bayarmaa Erdenejargal,30, and her father, Nyambat 26, live in Murun city.

Learning at home

“The name Amina comes from an ancient Arabic word which means honest and helpful”, says mother Maral Khuandag.
© UNICEF Mongolia/2017/ Mungunkhishig Batbaatar

“When I grow up, I’m going to have three jobs – a policewoman, a doctor and a teacher!” says 5-year-old Amina. This ambitious little girl, from a Kazakh ethnic minority family, lives with her parents, brother and sister in Khan-Uul district of Ulaanbaatar, the nation’s capital. In the same breath, she adds, “But I might become an artist because I learned how to sing and draw from the teacher on the TV kindergarten.” Amina, along with more than 2,000 other preschool children, has been following the UNICEF-supported home-based, distance learning programme aired on Mongolian National Broadcaster (MNB), the country’s biggest TV channel. The video lessons are supplemented by a workbook for children and a guidebook for parents, as well as regular counseling and monitoring from local education specialists.

Hygiene education is made more accessible to communities in Murun through home-based sessions

The house-to-house hygiene training is in session for both parents.
©UNICEFMongolia/2016/MungunkhishigB

Bayanbaatar’s family is one of thousands of ordinary young families living in Murun city. His wife Delgersaikhan, 34, is a teacher at the “Soroban” Abacus Training center. Bayanbaatar (30) is unemployed currently and takes care of their baby girl Zolboo, who was born slightly less than two months ago. Older child of the couple is a 9 year old boy called Myagmar. Bayanbaatar’s family moved to Murun several years ago from Selenge province in search of a better livelihood.

When there is a will, there is a way: Investing in early childhood development (ECD) in Nalaikh, Ulaanbaatar

Uranbileg and her favorite Teddy bear
©UNICEFMongolia/2016/Mungunkhishig Batbaatar

“I want to be a doctor when I grow up so that I can heal others,” says 5-year-old Uranbileg, also known as Urnaa. She lives in Nalaikh, a peri-urban district in the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Her bright, intelligent smile belies the chronicle of her past pain and doubt. Having been born with bilateral orofacial clefts, her parents wondered if her little daughter would have a normal life in the future.

Хүүхэд бүрийг зохистой хоол тэжээлээр хангах нь

2 настай Азат хүү ээжийнхээ хийж өгсөн бантанг идэж байна.

©НҮБХС Монгол Улс/2016/A.Энхзул

     Хоолны сайхан үнэр гэрээр нэг дүүрэн үнэртэнэ. "Өнөөдөр би бантан хийсэн. Бантангаа жаахан хөрөхөөр нь илүү тэжээллэг болгохын тулд хүнсний нэмэлт найрлагат бэлдмэл нэмж хийдэг” хэмээн 27 настай Жулдиз бүсгүй ярилаа. Гурван хүүхэддээ үдийн хоолыг нь хийж өгөхөд хүүхдүүд бие биенээсээ уралдан хурдан гэгч нь иднэ. “Хүүхдүүд маань хоол унданд сайн байвал би баяртай байдаг. Хоолонд сайн байна гэдэг чинь эрүүл саруул өсөж байгаагийн шинж шүү дээ” гээд Жулдиз инээмсэглэн өгүүлэв.

Learning at home

Cheerful and happy Anungoo, after she read her favorite poem

©UNICEF Mongolia/2016/Enkhzul Altangerel

5 year-old Anungoo (Anu) is a cheerful little girl, who loves to sing and recite poems for anyone she meets. 

“I know a lot of poems. Do you want to hear one? My favorite poem is the Fall” says Anu enthusiastically, and goes on to recite a poem about beauty of nature in fall. She learned all these just in the past few months by attending recently launched home-based distance learning program.

Mobile kindergartens – best learning place for herders’ children

Otgonsuren drawing with colored pencils
©UNICEF Mongolia/2015/Tsendsuren Tumee

“My favorite toy is a car!” cheerfully says 4 year-old Otgonsuren.  “We have so many toys to play with, but I like painting and drawing the most”. Taking a pencil from stack of colored pencils, he starts drawing. Otgonsuren started kindergarten only this summer, and he has been enjoying the new experience. “I really like my kindergarten” he says.

Raising parents: Helping Mongolians become better parents

Ganbat with his big brown eyes 

©UNICEF/Mongolia/2015/Zetty Brake

Ganbat is a small two-year-old with big, expressive brown eyes and short black hair. His mother Enktsetseg, 42, says loves his older sister, five. “He follows her around and copies what she does,” she says. "He does not speak a lot, but he is very good at saying 'mother' and 'I love you'".