The People of Gobisumber Collaborate to Overcome Challenges

When Save the Children first began implementing the “Entrepreneurship-Focused Socio-Emotional Skills for the Most Vulnerable Youth in Rural Mongolia” project, we faced an important question: Would it be more effective to focus on school-based activities, or should we engage the entire community in a collaborative effort? While working with a small group of people who share the same role and structure may seem easier, the goals of the project required broad cooperation with all relevant stakeholders to achieve success. To ensure this, the establishment of both the Project Aimag Level Counsel (ALC) and Project Soum Level Counsel (SLC), along with standardized procedures for their operations, became the optimal solution.

On February 6, 2020, Save the Children signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the province Governor to officially launch the project. Governor G. Batsuuri expressed his strong support for the initiative and highlighted the importance of making it a central activity for the province. Following this, the Governor issued a decree to establish the ALC, which consisted of 11 members, chaired by D. Sodnom, the Chief of the province Governor’s Office.

The ALC brought together heads of key departments and agencies, the leader of the province’s Mongolian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the director of the Polytechnic College, and teachers from the Lifelong Learning Center. This diverse group ensured that the project was well-aligned with the goals of various local organizations.

 

For example, the ALC identified the lack of a Lifelong Learning Center in the province, presented this issue to the Provincial Citizens’ Representative Khural, and successfully advocated for the establishment of a new center. They also addressed key operational aspects, including staffing, budget, and office space. This not only supported the project’s implementation, but also contributed to the overall development of local youth.

The ALC members have fostered a practice of aligning project activities with sectoral policies and practices, particularly focusing on supporting initiatives led by children and youth. In addition to the ALC members, the Provincial Governor and the Chairman of the Provincial Citizens’ Khural have actively served as mentors, providing guidance and support to each team of out-of-school youth implementing subgrant projects.

As part of the “Let’s Illuminate the Light” campaign, initiated by the students of the Entrepreneur Club at the general secondary school No. 5 in Sumber soum, the children raised funds with the support of local organizations, community members, and families to light up the entrances of apartments, which received widespread public appreciation. Furthermore, the soum Governor’s Office has expressed its support for this student-led initiative and is planning to address the lighting issues in all household entrances by collaborating with the Home Associations. This collaboration demonstrated that when children’s initiatives are supported by state organizations, there are opportunities to address some local challenges and make meaningful improvements.

Although the heads of relevant organizations serve as members of the ALC, the employees of these organizations also play an active role in its activities. If a head is unavailable due to other commitments, another employee steps in to represent the organization at Counsel meetings, ensuring continuity of operations. In addition to serving as judges for the small business-project (Subgrant) selection team, experts from the Department of Labor and Welfare Services have supported the part-time job referral center for students initiated by the subgrant implementation team at the Polytechnic College. They have also begun developing part-time job opportunities within the community.

The Provincial Department of Education presented the School-Based Enterprise initiative, “Borjigon Development Center,” at a meeting of organizational heads. This initiative, being piloted at school No. 1 in Sumber soum, has created valuable opportunities for local organizations to participate in training sessions hosted by the center and to rent their premises to government organizations for official trainings.

Additionally, the center secured 36 million MNT from the Local Development Fund to purchase essential training equipment and tablets, and 79 million MNT from the Ministry of Education for smart screens and other necessary equipment. These achievements are a direct result of the collaboration between local organizations.

D.Sodnom, Chief of the Governor’s Office of Gobisumber province and head of the ALC, summarized the Counsel’s work by stating, “Mongolians generally tend to be shy and struggle with open communication. I believe this project has successfully addressed this challenge. Moving forward, our Counsel will focus on securing support from government agencies, integrating the project’s activities and methodologies into the local context, and ensuring its long-term sustainability. In this regard, there is potential for the province to endorse this initiative and provide funding to support its implementation.”

The establishment of province and project soum-level сounsels, along with the clear definition of their functions and alignment with the core activities of member organizations, is fostering collaboration and participation. This is helping to develop a local approach to working together for education and child development.