Can I take on more children?

- Part one : Mongolia’s development in the last year

This question has occupied me since last spring. My plan for 2010 was to support at least four children, but after taking Vannie and Enkhtsetseg at the beginning of the year, I decided to slow down.

During my sixth visit, in May 2010, I realized things had changed. Mongolia had changed. A housing boom exploded (and then imploded), western-styled malls appeared and multiplied quickly, as did Gucci and Prada stores. The traffic in the capital had become unbearable because a large number of people were now able afford cars. But in the care center everything stayed the same. It got renovated, yes, but the renovation just offered a new coat of paint and a few large Disney stickers, which had replaced the beautiful stencils of steppe grass, also common in Native American art.

Mongolia’s government started to hand out premiums to every citizen due to the increased mining state revenues, yet the situation for the poor didn’t improve, quite the contrary, as the living costs climbed. http://mongoliabusinessblog.com

In addition, Mongolia had an incredibly harsh winter, during which eight million animals perished, 17% of the country’s total livestock. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/23/mongolia-livestock-deaths-harsh-winter This had a huge impact on us as well, Byambaa lost three-fourth of his herd, and Nasa’s family lost several cows. Both families had to spend large sums of money on feed and hay to save the remaining animals and I supported them, which made a considerable dent in my budget.

The zud, as this type of cold winter is called, forced many herders to give up their lifestyle and re-settle in the city. As a result Ayurzana and I failed to find nomadic families willing to take in foster children.

When I went back in October 2010, the situation was even more extreme. Larger foreign investments had been poured into the mining industry, which generated more money for the rich, a slight increase for the middle-class, and only crumbs for the poor. The childcare center tended to as many kids as usual, no improvement here.

There was a bit of progress: the minister of welfare allocated money to open a new childcare center, helmed by Ayurzana. It was created for children of under earning parents. These children live in the center full time, go to school and participate in a music program based on El Sistema. http://elsistemausa.org/ It is run on the principles of a boarding school with the participation of the parents, who are encouraged to stay involved in their children’s lives. This care center is very successful; most children have rebuilt their relationship with their parents and have gotten a taste of community and success through the music program. A youth orchestra was formed that is now playing in concert halls and touring the country. Ayurzana is very happy, even though he is working double shifts and jokes that they took away his police staff and replaced it with music teachers.

The developments throughout caused me to refine my approach.