One Year Working in Mongolia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I began my placement here (after the initial In Country Training) exactly one year ago today. A whole year of working in Mongolia! (Coincidentally, I believe I started my first job in the voluntary sector on the 8th September!)

It's interesting looking back on the work and things I have been involved in. I remember itching to start work after three weeks of ICT - living in the guesthouse, Mongolian lessons that bamboozled me, and some rather boring sessions at VSO! And then work started, sloooowly!!! It is interesting to see new volunteers experiencing the same thing: wanting to get stuck in have an immediate impact, but then finding that it can take many months to get to that position. It takes time to get to know the organisation, the people you work with, find all the information you need, adapt to the way of working etc. But it does happen.

I have worked with Chingletei District Health Unit in UB, Darkhan Health Department, and Dornod Health Department. I have been involved in delivering training about working with volunteers to all doctors and nurses who work in the family group practices in both Chingletei and Darkhan (over 180 people). I have also delivered volunteer management training to all supervisors in the family group practices in Darkhan and Chingletei. I have worked with the project managers in the three areas to help them improve their skills and develop the projects. I helped Nyamka, my counterpart in Chingletei, to learn English. This enabled him to attend a Volunteer Project Management course in the Philipines, run by VSO. I am now chairing the Volunteer Committee here (I was volunteered for the position rather than volunteering myself!). Myself and Nina, another VSO volunteer, began the Volunteer Interpreters Project - working with student interpreters who could develop their English and interpreting skills and experience while providing a service for VSO volunteers. I have just completed a report on the first year of the project and the volunteers have given over 700 hours of their time and supported 12 VSO volunteers. One of the interpreters has also acheived paid work as an interpreter with VSO. This project may now be duplicated in other locations in Mongolia where VSO volunteers are based.

Looking back, I am pleased with the work I've been involved in and the things I've achieved but I am glad my placement is for two years. I feel I am now in a position to have more of an impact than I was able to in the first year. Roll on year 2!!!!

Improving Capacity

In April Nyamka, my counterpart in Chingletei, was away on a volunteer project management course in the Philippines. The course was organised by the VSO office there and was open to people involved in National Volunteering who worked with partner organisations of VSO. The course was in English and the organisors demanded a high standard of English from particpants.

The course was perfect for Nyamka and would help in developing his skills and improving the project. However, his English needed some improvement and the course was fast approaching. It took a lot of work to inprove his English to a standard so he could particpate effectively, but he was keen and his English improved substantially.

On the last day of his course he had to write a plan and present it to his group. He emailed me the plan for my comments, and I was so pleased (and somewhat relieved, as I recommended him for the course) to see a good plan in English! Part of my objectives is to improve the capacity of my counterparts and I feel as though I have made real progress in that area.