{"id":20632,"date":"2025-04-02T12:58:03","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T04:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savethechildren.mn\/?p=20632"},"modified":"2025-04-16T13:13:30","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T05:13:30","slug":"a-herders-daughters-journey-to-social-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savethechildren.mn\/?p=20632&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"A Herder\u2019s Daughter\u2019s Journey to Social Work"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Saytsetseg T, a third-year Social Work student at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, shared her childhood achievements and personal transformation story while interning with the Child Protection Program at Save the Children.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Born into a herding family in Tsagaan-Ovoo soum, Dornod aimaig, Saytsetseg began her education in 2010 at the age of five. Since her family lived in the countryside to tend their livestock, she moved into her school dormitory to pursue her studies. It was during this time that her journey and Save the Children crossed paths through the launch of the project \u201cImproving Primary Education Outcomes for the Most Vulnerable Children in Rural Mongolia\u201d in her soum.<\/p>\n

Despite her young age at the time, Saytsetseg never forgot the project\u2019s name, as it left a lasting impression on her early school memories. \u201cI still remember the older brothers and sisters in red vests coming in the white car to give younger children book and toy kits and set up the child development room,\u201d she recalls. \u201cAt that time, toys were amazing for children in rural areas. The books were full of fun activities. It made learning more exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The project focused on supporting children in dormitories ans those unable to attend preschool. It introduced several child-friendly innovations, including:<\/p>\n

– \u201cChild Development Room\u201d in school dormitories equipped with educational materials and \u201cExtracurricular after-school program\u201d,<\/p>\n

– \u201cI Can\u201d school readiness program for five-year-old children,<\/p>\n

– \u201cYou Are the Teacher\u201d, a home-learning guide to help parents teach their children,<\/p>\n

– \u201cMy Book Haven\u201d, a rotating lending system for books and toy kits that children could take home and use with their families for 10 to 14 days before returning.<\/p>\n

These kits were designed to support child development, spark motivation and enthusiasm for learning, and build essential skills and self-confidence. They contained 105 types of books and 35 kinds of toys, all carefully curated to suit the age and developmental needs of young children.<\/p>\n

Saytsetseg lived in the dormitory through 7th grade during the project period. By 6th grade, she had begun leading after-school activities for younger students and assisting teachers in guiding evening exercises. With few other extracurricular opportunities at that time, children were very active and eager to join.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the project, the dormitory became a vibrant and inviting space, equipped with large televisions, books, and toys. Children spent their spare time to draw pictures, write poems, and complete various after-school developmental tasks that supported their growth. For Saytsetseg, the experience was life-changing. \u201cI was a very shy child who did not enjoy going to school at first,\u201d she reflected. But through the project, she made many new friends and discovered new interests. These experiences helped her become more confident and expressive. She started to participate in school activities and engage with others. \u201cThose memories and lessons stayed with me and inspired my career path,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The project made positive impacts on many children like Saytsetseg in Tsagaan-Ovoo soum. Today, she has come full circle \u2013 interning at Save the Children and revisting the very project that once supported her. Saytsetseg was excited to come across the same \u201cExtracurricular after-school program\u201d book she had used as a child.<\/p>\n

The success of this initiative continues to ripple outward. The home-based school preparation program has since been officially adopted by Mongolia\u2019s Ministry of Education and Science as the \u201cEarly Childhood Development Program\u201d for children of herder families who cannot access preschool. Furthermore, the Mongolian National University of Education now incorporates the project\u2019s methodology into its preschool teacher training curriculum.<\/p>\n

\n

The project \u201cImproving Primary Education Outcomes for the Most Vulnerable Children in Rural Mongolia\u201d was implemented by Save the Children from 2012 to 2017. It was funded by the Japanese Social Development Fund through World Bank. This initiative took innovative and inclusive approach to engage key stakeholders in child development through creative book-and-toy kit and parent-led activities, supported from school librarians and local education experts. As a result, 1,545 children aged 5-6 for school from 30 remote soums in Arkhangai, Dornod, Sukhbaatar, and Uvurkhangai aimags were successfully prepared for school. Overall, the project, reached over 8,000 children and involved more than 20,000 teachers, parents, and local officials.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For more details about the project results, please see the link below:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/savethechildren.mn\/?portfolio-item=improving-primary-education-outcomes-for-the-most-vulnerable-children-in-rural-mongolia-2012-2017&lang=en<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saytsetseg T, a third-year Social Work student at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, shared her childhood achievements and personal transformation story while interning with the Child Protection Program at Save the Children. Born into a herding family in Tsagaan-Ovoo soum, Dornod aimaig, Saytsetseg began her education in 2010 at the age of five. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":20514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[165,163],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-story-hub"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethechildren.mn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethechildren.mn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethechildren.mn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethechildren.mn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethechildren.mn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20632"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/savethechildren.mn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20635,"href":"https:\/\/savethechildren.mn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20632\/revisions\/20635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethechildren.mn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethechildren.mn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethechildren.mn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethechildren.mn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}