Getting
to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1
For
this week’s blog assignment I decided to research the country Mongolia. I chose Mongolia because I wanted to learn
more about a country which I was not too familiar with. In 1990 Mongolia went
from a socialist country to a multi-party democratic state. Due to the
transition Mongolia has experienced hard time in getting back on its feet and
above poverty level. The adjustment and changes to the economy has also called
for basic services and welfare to be reduced. Mongolia was once a country that
had various resources to help all families but because of the transition some
families have had to go without basic needs.
According to the article, in 1998 36% of Mongolia’s population was
living below the income poverty line. Majority of the families affected by
poverty are presided over female households and impact the lives of children
0-16 years of age. I found very interesting how poverty and the transition
influenced the children of Mongolia. Many Mongolian children are forced to work
to help support their families and had to give up their right to education to
support the one’s they love most. Hopefully
with time Mongolia can get to a point where they can reduce the numbers of
families below or at the poverty line and put into place a system which aids
all families in need.
Reference
It's very unfortunate that young children are faced with adult decisions such as given up educational opportunities to go to work. Though, it's much easier said than done, I wish the issues of poverty were solved. If we continue to advocate and make people more aware about the severity of poverty, we'll be that much closer.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy reading your post. it sadden me when anyone has to endure the hardships of poverty. I do hope that a system would be put in place to assist the families and children that are affected by poverty.
ReplyDeleteHello Sha’Keema,
ReplyDeleteThis month’s full moon must have connected our thoughts and feelings because I also chose Mongolia as country of focus. Our friends (a teacher and a nurse) adopted 2 children from Russia about 10 years ago, one child was two and a half and his brother was just past one year old. Soon after, they enrolled their children into day care and preschool and it came to their attention that the youngest one had a hearing deficiency when he was not learning English according to the norms. As soon as he got hearing aids, the child started to blossom. Quickly, he caught onto English and its subtleties and his joy was contagious. I am surprised that he did not show scars from not being able to communicate. He shows great resiliency and I am sure that he will be able to surmount whatever will come up later on in his life.
The report on Mongolia shows that some government programs benefit society by greatly reducing illiteracy and therefore poverty. I enjoyed reading your post.