Community Development Projects by YLP VIII

Each year the YLP class is divided into three teams which compete to create and implement community development projects. These projects enable the participants to practice the leadership skills that they have learned and address some of the community issues that they have discovered through the program sessions. There are no losers in the competition as each team receives a prize for their efforts. A summary description of the three projects for this year follows below:

” Eco-environment” project,   Team Plastic

The eco-environmental project was designed to teach Mongolians about the need to recycle plastic waste in the community. Educational training sessions were held in local public schools (five high schools and one kindergarten) to teach the young people about the hazards of plastic waste and the need for recycling to protect the environment. Plastic was collected from the schools and delivered to a recycling facility which made various consumer products from the waste. In addition, an eco-environment day was held at the Micheel Expo in cooperation with the city mayor’s office to inform the general public about the need to recycle plastic waste and how to do it. Working with the recycling company, San-Orgui Ltd., the team was able to help the company win a cash prize ($30,000) in an international exposition through their project activities and consulting with the corporate marketing department. Additionally, the team was able to obtain financial donations for their project totaling MNT 7,550,000.

Organizations with whom they collaborated:

Mayor’s office, Administrations of Bayangol and Bayanzurkh districts, “San-Orgui ltd”, Water supply companies, 47^th , 51^st , 40^th , 28^th , 53^rd  high schools, 82^nd  kindergarten.

“Healthy women – future of the country”, Team Healthy Roots

The purpose of the healthy women project was to teach economically distressed women about the dangers of cervical cancer and to provide medical screening for this community which does not normally receive medical examinations due to a lack of insurance or sufficient funds. A total of 50 vulnerable women received examinations for cervical cancer and additional funding was raised to cover exams for 200 more women in the future. In addition, a one day open house was held at the National Gallery of Modern Art on women’s beauty and the relationship with children. Brochures were created on reproductive women’s health and measures for disease prevention. Five hundred brochures were printed and distributed to the public. A financial fund was started called “Healthy Root” which will cover future costs of the project. The fund will be supported by Mongolia Beyond Co Ltd. The company will donate one percent of the sales of each of its products to maintain the fund. To date, the project has raised MNT 3,187,000.

Organizations with whom they collaborated:

Khan Bank Foundation, Mongolian Women’s Association, Mongolian National Gallery of Modern Art,  Arts Council of Mongolia, Gurvan Terkh Family Practice of Bayangol district,  Medical University of Mongolia, National Cancer Center of Mongolia , Association of Mongolian Female Scouts, Hospital of Songinokhairkhan district, Broadway Marquis restaurant and individuals.

“Saving our world 1/7” project

 In these times where humanity is confronted by complex issues such as global warming, climate change and nature’s balance being upset, people must do simple things to save our planet. This team’s project goal was to inform and make people understand that they can save our planet by doing seven simple things such as: preserve water, plant trees, sort household waste, use efficient fuel, save energy, reduce use of cars and other engines and eat vegetarian food. The seven actions were promoted to the public through print media and the team participated in the citizen’s initiative TV show on the C1 television channel. The team also trained 300 scouts and asked them to help with their activities. Energy efficient light bulbs and water glasses were distributed to selected residents in the Khan Uul district. The going vegan campaign was organized at the New Media Marketing Co. where training was conducted on the importance of a vegetarian diet. The company subsequently adopted a no meat day once a week at their facility.   

Organizations with whom they collaborated:

Citizens of 2^nd khoroo of Khan Uul district, The New Media Marketing Agency, C1 TV station