Mongolia is a semi-presidential republic located in Northern Asia. Known as the homeland of the 13th-century conqueror, Genghis Khan, Mongolia still maintains the traditions of a nomadic way of life. After the Mongolian Revolution of 1921, which ended the communist Chinese dominance, the Mongolian People’s Republic was established in 1924. The country also went through a peaceful democratic revolution in 1990, after which, the country’s ex-communist party competed for political power with the Democratic Party. In the wake of these political changes, homelessness in Mongolia, driven by a housing shortage, has become a significant concern.
Homelessness in Mongolia
Currently, homelessness is a huge issue the nation is trying to tackle. In Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, there are reports of homeless people living in the sewage system. To improve homelessness in Mongolia, the government and humanitarian organizations must determine the contributing factors, the individuals affected and the measures being taken.
Similar to many countries, homelessness in Mongolia is linked to a lack of affordable housing. Ulaanbaatar, for example, underwent rapid urbanization during the past decade. Mongolia’s mining boom in 2012 helped immensely in the urbanization of Mongolia. After the establishment of the Privatization Law, which allowed people to freely choose residence location, many Mongolians migrated to Ulaanbaatar for more job opportunities. Ulaanbaatar’s population, which was 650,000 people in 1998, increased to 1.49 million people in 2018. This migration to Ulaanbaatar was further encouraged by a series of flock-devastating winters which forced many nomadic populaces to migrate to the city.
Migration and Ger Areas
Many migrants set up Ger in the city, which is traditional Mongolian housings; around Ulaanbaatar, there are now numerous Ger areas. In 2018, the Mongolian officials estimated that 55% of the city, which is about 750,000 people, lived in Ger around Ulaanbaatar. These Ger areas, however, are not the optimal housing solution for Mongolia.
These houses aren’t connected to basic services such as running water, sewage and waste disposal systems. Because these housings rely on coal stoves in individual homes to provide heating during the harsh winters, the stoves are contributing to air pollution in Mongolia. While the Mongolian government is working to address the issue, receptivity to the new development plan was mixed.
Government Aims
While the recent economic boom in Mongolia improved housing to high-rises and luxury residents, there is still a lack of affordable housing units. Part of this is due to how the Mongolian government aims to renovate and update the antiquated Soviet-era housing. The Ulaanbaatar 2020 Master Plan and Development Approaches for 2030, which was approved in 2015, aims to redevelop Ulaanbaatar’s Ger district with new apartments and service centers.
Under the plan, development companies enter an agreement with the residents in the district. If 70% of the residents approve of the company’s development plan, the companies are allowed to begin the project. However, some residents are accusing these development companies of worsening homelessness in Mongolia by forcefully evicting residents. For the 30% of residents who do not approve of the development plans, there seems to be little legal protection for individual rights to housing. Many residents feel that the law doesn’t clearly state the rights of the residents during the city’s renovation of Ger districts.
Humanitarian Organization Support
Many organizations have released reports of their recommendations to Mongolia. Amnesty International, for example, emphasized the importance of protecting Mongolian residents from possibly over-zealous housing development projects. Other organizations are also encouraging the Mongolian government to expand city infrastructures to support the growing migrant population to Ulaanbaatar. Furthermore, these organizations are calling to reform Mongolia’s migrant registration system. By making it easier for migrants to register as urban residents, many believe that this will make it easier to obtain access to local social services and residential infrastructures.
Other international organizations are attempting to alleviate housing insecurity and homelessness in Mongolia. The Habitat for Humanity, for example, has built numerous homes in Mongolia. As early as 2009, Habitat for Humanity reported the building of homes for 1,500 Mongolian families.
Additionally, in July 2012, international volunteers from 12 countries came to Mongolia to build housing near Ulaanbaatar. This multinational project, “The Blue Sky Build Houses,” also worked with local volunteers to build 20 polystyrene blockhouses. These houses have excellent insulation and use less wood during construction. These houses also include energy-efficient stoves, which extend the heat generation time of coal-burning from two hours to eight hours.
Homelessness in Mongolia is a complex issue. While the Mongolian economic boom has created lucrative opportunities for many, it has also aided in housing insecurity because of the mass migration to Ulaanbaatar. This mass migration to the city shows the case of the lack of affordable housing in the capital city, which inevitably exacerbates the homelessness in Mongolia. Moving forward, additional efforts by the government and other international humanitarian organizations are crucial to providing affordable housing and reducing homelessness in the nation.
– YongJin Yi
Photo: Flickr
5 Celebrities Donating to Fight COVID-19
COVID-19 continues to threaten the world. Although celebrities cannot be on the frontlines, they are doing their part in the battle against the virus. From creating their own nonprofit organizations to donating to global charities, these public figures continue to support the improvement of global poverty and health. Here are five celebrities donating to fight COVID-19.
5 Celebrities Donating to Fight COVID-19
These five celebrities donating to fight COVID-19 show that while some celebrities invest money into existing global charities and others create their own, all fight to improve people’s livelihoods. These celebrities serve as a reminder to use privilege and societal standing to benefit those who are less privileged, especially during a global pandemic when the entire world is struggling.
– Kiyomi Kishaba
Photo: Flickr
Improving Healthcare in Jamaica
In the tourist’s eye, Jamaica is an enticing island with constant summer sun and alluring beaches. However, behind this guise, Jamaicans face a complicated reality. Healthcare in Jamaica is in desperate need of improvement. There is an increasing obligation to balance public access to health services with the practitioners’ ability to keep up with the enlarged workload.
Health Problems in Jamaica
Jamaica has many health issues that require an effective healthcare system. The top health issues that lead to premature death in Jamaica include stroke, diabetes, neonatal disorders, Ischemic heart disease and HIV/AIDS. Along with these issues, mental illness and STDs disproportionately affect Jamaica’s youth, and these often correlate with social and economic factors. The 2017 Global School Health Survey found that 24.8% of students seriously considered suicide and 18.5% of students attempted suicide over a 12 month period. In terms of STDs, only 31% of Jamaicans over the age of 15 and 51% of Jamaicans under 15 living with HIV were receiving treatment in 2018.
In order to try to make healthcare accessible to all Jamaica introduced free public health services to its citizens in 2008 by removing user fees. On the surface, this appears to be a positive step in removing the economic barrier that prevents the poor from receiving adequate healthcare. However, this has revealed deeper issues for healthcare in Jamaica.
Issues with Free Public Health Services
With the increase in patients, health practitioners have found themselves experiencing overwork and extreme stress. This shift has negatively affected the performance of these practitioners as patient demand has increased, but facilities remain understaffed. In 2016, researchers evaluated how the removal of charges has directly affected the workload. The study found that before the instigation of the free services, 50% of health practitioners had satisfaction with their workload. By 2016, eight years after the introduction of free healthcare, only 14% had satisfaction with their workload.
Some doctors interviewed for the study indicated that both the clinics and hospitals were seeing more patients daily after the elimination of charges. The quality of care worsened as medical professionals did not account for waiting times and availability of resources. The size of health clinics and the number of staff pale in comparison to the number of Jamaicans seeking care.
Along with the insufficient number of health practitioners, Jamaica’s medical infrastructures often do not match the demand of patients. Those in rural areas especially must travel long distances to access health care. The expansion of health facilities is extremely expensive. With Jamaica’s financial debt, this is not a project that it can take on lightly.
Also revealed in this situation is the scarcity of resources available to health clinics. The flood of patients has caused issues such as a delay of bloodwork and a shortage of medication. There have even been situations where patients had to purchase the medical supplies necessary for their surgery, costing an extreme amount that counteracts the efforts of free healthcare.
Upgrading Health Facilities
However, the failings of healthcare in Jamaica does not mean that the country is beyond help. In fact, the Minister of Health and Wellness announced in 2019 that over the next five years, Jamaica will be upgrading public health facilities with the funds of $200 million. The Minister plans to upgrade nine public health centers and six hospitals, one of which is the Cornwall Regional Hospital, which will benefit more than 400,000 residents. The Minister also plans to build a new Western Child and Adolescent Hospital, in addition to developing more sophisticated healthcare technology.
NGOs such as UNICEF are also doing work. The agency has established a Health Promotion program that works to provide quality health services to babies, adolescents and young mothers. The two goals of this program are to enhance institutional capacity to deliver effective health services and to boost the access of adolescents to these health services. By partnering with groups such as the Word Health Organization and Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness, UNICEF is carrying out its Baby-Friendly Hospitals Initiative, Adolescent-Friendly Services and Empowerment of Girls and Young Mothers.
Healthcare in Jamaica is lacking in many areas, but the country is doing continuous work to enhance health facilities and services. This progress shows that the country should see improvement in the future.
– Natascha Holenstein
Photo: Pixabay
Refugees Making Face Masks to Fight COVID-19
Social distancing enforcements have put a strain on refugee-owned tailoring businesses. People are unable to come into these businesses anymore as they have to stay at home. Finding a solution to this bind, refugees have turned their primary services to making masks. They are selling them to stay afloat while also helping a great cause.
Refugees Making Face Masks
At least 32,898 have come through Washington since 2003. In Seattle, the Refugee Artisan Initiative has the mission to “transform the lives of refugee and immigrant women by providing sustainable work in sewing and handcrafting products.” Usually, women in this organization, who span from countries such as Vietnam, China, Myanmar and Morocco, produce home products like potholders and fabric jewelry. The Refugee Artisan Initiative helps train refugees so they will have a way to earn a living. It also helps them assimilate by helping them find English classes.
When the crisis hit, the organization was bombarded with many messages about there being a shortage of face masks. In response to this, working refugees decided to make masks by using the multitude of fabrics they have. The Refugee Artisan Initiative then launched a GoFundMe page to support the refugees making face masks. The refugees were able to make more than 1,200 masks within five days.
Continued Efforts
In addition to face masks, the Refugee Artisan Initiative team is also making face shields. It started with a goal of creating 1,000 face shields, but after “Washington state started to pay people for finished face shields,” the goal increased to 10,000. So far, the organization has raised $39,525 towards its $45,000 goal. This money goes to supporting the refugees making the masks to keep the production going. Now, refugees around the world are making masks to help the cause and make whatever money they can to survive.
In refugee camps, social distancing is nonexistent because there are too many people in the camps and they are too close together to social distance. Refugees feel empowered to make face masks in these camps. One of these refugees is fashion designer Maombi Samil who lives in Kenya and is making face masks for the UNHCR (the U.N. Refugee Agency). He and his team were able to make 300 masks in one week. Some of these masks went to refugees who could afford them as well as staff members in need.
Refugees making face masks have helped communities tremendously. They will continue to use their talents to produce face masks as COVID-19 continues. They have been able to make a great difference in protecting people, especially those on the front-lines, against COVID-19.
– Emily Joy Oomen
Photo: Flickr
Daylilies to Reduce Poverty in China
Chinese President Xi Jinping has made substantial efforts to reduce poverty in China for the millions living without basic necessities. In 2015, President Jinping set the goal of eliminating poverty in China by 2020. There were 1.4 billion people in poverty at that time, defined as earning less than $1.10 a day, a lower benchmark than the World Bank poverty guideline of $1.90 a day. While some of his methods to alleviate rural poverty have been conventional, like increasing tourism and promoting produce production, in one Chinese district his tactic has been far from ordinary.
The Yunzhou District of China is located about 200 miles west of Beijing, in the Yanshan and Taihang mountains. Given its remote location, the cities in this district have dealt with high levels of poverty. However, in the last decade, farmers in this area have capitalized on the fecund growth of daylilies to alleviate poverty in the region, and in China more broadly.
Medicinal Qualities of Daylilies
Daylilies are edible flowers that people use in Chinese herbal medicine. According to studies, they may have detoxification properties, aid in reducing insomnia, lessen hemorrhoids and calm nerves. Daylilies in China belong to a heartier class of flowers since they can grow in a variety of soil conditions, and the flower itself comes in many colors. Its botanical name, Hemerocallis, translates to “beauty for a day,” as most daylilies will bloom in the morning and die by nightfall. However, the flower will stay in bloom for several weeks because each stem has more than 12 flower buds.
Increase in Land for Daylilies
Though areas in the district, like Datong City and the Fangcheng new village, have been cultivating daylilies for more than 600 years, the district recently increased the land on which it grows daylilies by 10 times. Now, millions of daylilies in China grow on 10,000 hectares or the equivalent of more than 18,000 football fields.
President Xi Jinping’s Support for the Daylily Industry
On a recent trip to the district, President Jinping encouraged farmers and locals alike to continue developing the industry to reduce poverty in China. During his visit, President Jinping spoke about the country’s efforts to reach its goal of total poverty eradication by the end of 2020. So far, daylily production has helped lift more than 1 million people out of poverty. In 2019, daylily production generated $9.17 million for the district. President Jinping remains steadfast in alleviating poverty in the country despite having only a few months before his deadline.
Revenue from daylilies in China may seem like an unusual product to reduce poverty in China by Western standards. However, according to Eastern culture, the flower is a cornerstone of the Chinese market and therefore a logical aspect of poverty alleviation. Even though the Yunzhou District has been cultivating the flower for more than 600 years, it is comforting to know that the towns and cities in that district have utilized daylily production in the last 10 years to bring over a million individuals out of poverty.
– Mimi Karabulut
Photo: Flickr
The State of Child Homelessness in Egypt
Egypt is a presidential republic in North Africa. Famous for its history, archaeological values and vast deserts, Egypt is one of the oldest countries in the world. However, Egypt went through a period of political, societal and economical turmoil during the 2010s. By 2011, former president Hosni Mubarak stepped down from his office, and between 2011 and 2018, the nation went through multiple presidents. All of this political and societal turmoil contributed to homelessness. In particular, child homelessness in Egypt is a pervasive issue.
Child Homelessness in Egypt
Child homelessness is an issue that has plagued the country for a long time. According to a survey conducted by Egypt’s National Center for Social and Criminological Research, there were an estimated three million homeless children in Egypt in 2011. The Egyptian government took measures to combat child homelessness, however. In 2003, the government adopted a new national strategy that aimed to protect and rehabilitate homeless children, also known as street children. This initiative aimed to alleviate child homelessness in the country through multiple coordinated projects between the government and NGOs.
While this initiative saw a relative amount of success, it is clear that there is still a long road ahead of alleviating child homelessness in Egypt. These homeless children are often in danger of sex trafficking, street begging and forced labor.
Life for Street Children
Poverty, unemployment, family breakdown, child abuse and neglect are some of the main causes of Egypt’s child homelessness crisis. While not all street children lack a stable family and a home to return to, the majority of the street children still live, work and sleep in the streets. A young woman interviewed by France 24 in 2017 said that she left her parents’ house when she was six years old because her father abused her. She has lived on the streets ever since. Unfortunately, this young woman’s story is not uncommon among street children.
However, life on the streets is still harsh. Many people in Egypt view street children as drug-addicts and criminals. As a result, there seems to be a general hesitation in donating to the NGOs and shelters that are trying to assist the homeless street children of Egypt. According to a 2010 study that interviewed a total of 857 street children in Cairo and Alexandria, 93% of the children stated that they faced harassment or abuse on the streets. Furthermore, the study found that 62% of the children used drugs. Among adolescent girls 15 to 17 years old, most of them stated that they had suffered sexual abuse.
Government Efforts
Fortunately, there are programs in place to help the street children of Egypt. In 2016, the government launched a project aimed to build shelters and educate street children. Egypt’s Ministry of Social Solidarity also launched the “Children Without Shelter” program. Ministry workers train street children in first-aid and try to collect any paperwork or identification which they can use to move the children into a shelter. Getting children into shelters is difficult because Egyptian law does not allow shelters to receive children who do not provide a birth certificate.
The government also created the “Protecting Homeless Children” program, which deploys 17 mobile bus teams that provide temporary medical and psychological services. If a child is able to be united with their family, a separate team keeps in touch with the child’s family.
Moving Forward
Street children of Egypt are the ones who are most vulnerable to homelessness in Egypt. These Egyptian street children, who ran away from abuse, neglect and poverty, face harsh realities living on the street. On top of lacking shelter and food, the homeless children of Egypt face discrimination and further abuse on the streets. Thankfully, the Egyptian government is taking measures to alleviate child homelessness in Egypt. Many hope for a future where child homelessness will be a story of the past in Egypt.
-YongJin Yi
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Tonga
Tonga is a country located in the South Pacific Ocean, within the South Pacific archipelago. The sovereign state consists of a total of 176 islands that spread across 270,000 square miles, 36 of which contain a fast-growing population of 100,651 people. About 70% of the 100,651 people live on the main island, Tongatapu. While life expectancy is on the rise throughout the country, there are still many health concerns. Here are 10 facts about life expectancy in Tonga.
10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Tonga
While life expectancy rates are on the rise in Tonga, there is still work to be done to improve the health of Tongans and further increase life expectancy. Tobacco use, alcohol use, a lack of physical activity and poor diet are all putting Tongans at risk for obesity and NCDs. Moving forward, the government and other humanitarian organizations must focus their efforts on improving health and life expectancy in Tonga.
– Marlee Septak
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About Sanitation in Venezuela
Venezuela was one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with its main exporter being oil. However, the country has suffered a water and sanitation crisis, as only 18% of the population had access to clean drinking water in 2018. Around 30% of the population that has unimproved sanitation live in rural areas, while 2.5% are in urban areas. While climate change has significantly impacted Latin America’s resources, Venezuela’s water/sanitation status has affected the lives of Venezuelan citizens. Here are 10 facts about sanitation in Venezuela.
10 Facts About Sanitation in Venezuela
Venezuela still has a long way to go in improving its water and sanitation services. Still, looking at these 10 facts about sanitation in Venezuela, the country is steadily working on the necessary progress it needs to increase clean water accessibility. By reevaluating infrastructure and establishing several laws surrounding water and sanitation access, sanitation in Venezuala should continue to improve.
– Loreal Nix
Photo: Flickr
Fighting Youth Unemployment in Senegal
Like many developing countries in Africa, Senegal’s economy is growing. In fact, in 2018, the country’s GDP increased by 6.766%. However, economic growth has not translated into more jobs for the younger generation, thus resulting in high youth unemployment. Young people either end up unemployed or in the informal job sector where wages are low. To solve the problem of youth unemployment in Senegal, the Senegalese government and NGOs are creating new policies and programs.
Youth and the Formal Job Sector
In 2019, Senegal’s population was over 16 million with 40% of the population younger than 15. More than 300,000 Senegalese youth enter the workforce each year. The formal sector in Senegal makes up between three to four percent of Senegal’s job market. As a result, college graduates struggle to find jobs relating to their field of study. When looking for formal jobs, graduates face many difficulties, including a lack of connections and a failure to meet the job qualifications. Youths also lack the knowledge of where to look for formal jobs.
Furthermore, according to employers, the education system does not meet the needs of the workforce because graduates do not have work experience (internships). The internships that youths do manage to get are often unpaid. This results in more difficulties for young people to sustain themselves while working. CNV International works with unions to make sure that interns are not being taken advantage of. Although the youth unemployment rate for ages between 15-24 has decreased from 13.2% in 2010 to 8.2% in 2019, Senegal still faces a problem of unemployment among youth.
Youth and the Informal Job Sector
When it becomes difficult to find employment, many Senegalese youth turn to the informal sector or start their own businesses. The informal sector is made up of businesses that are not registered and therefore do not pay taxes. For obtaining an informal job, social and personal relations play a more important role than a contractual agreement. Furthermore, informal jobs often tend not to provide employees with any form of social security or insurance, and are also fairly low-paying. Many informal jobs generate income that is less than Senegal’s minimum wage, according to Investisseurs & Partenaires.
Consequences of Youth Unemployment
The problem with youth unemployment is that it often leads to poverty, crime and even migration to other countries. In Senegal, many have left their villages to migrate to Europe. However, the path to Europe is dangerous and many die attempting to reach or cross the Mediterranean. To respond to the crisis of youth unemployment, the Senegalese government and NGOs have created programs to help young people find jobs.
Efforts to Reduce Youth Unemployment
In 2017, the Education Development Center and MasterCard Foundation started a 5-year long project to help teach students in both middle and high school. The project aims to teach students how to get a job as well as how to start a business. The program, known as APTE, helps provide internships, job placement, mentoring and coaching. Currently, the program works in 50 vocational education and training (TVET) schools and 200 middle schools (lower secondary), and has reached over 11,000 youths in the country.
To help youth entrepreneurs, the government created La Délégation Générale à l’Entreprenariat Rapide, a fund for entrepreneurs. The fund focuses on small financing, incubation funding, equity financing and low-interest loans. In the first wave of funding alone, the program received 140,000 applications. The fund has given money to multiple industries, including food, agriculture and digital/ICT.
With the help of the World Bank, the Senegalese government also created the Skills for Jobs and Competitiveness project to help reduce youth unemployment in Senegal. The project aims to train Senegalese youth in tourism, horticulture and poultry farming. Additionally, the Programme de Formation Ecole-Enterprise (School-Company Training Program) hopes to impact 10,000 young people by teaching them crucial job skills. The government is also working with companies through an apprenticeship program to train students while they are in school.
Although the youth unemployment rate in Senegal has decreased, it still remains a relevant issue. Programs by NGOs and the government are essential to providing job opportunities for young people in Senegal. These efforts also serve to reduce poverty and encourage youth to remain in Senegal rather than attempt the dangerous journey to Europe. If this focus on tackling youth unemployment continues, a new future for Senegal’s youth may be peeking through the horizon.
– Joshua Meribole
Photo: Flickr
Housing Shortage and Homelessness in Mongolia
Mongolia is a semi-presidential republic located in Northern Asia. Known as the homeland of the 13th-century conqueror, Genghis Khan, Mongolia still maintains the traditions of a nomadic way of life. After the Mongolian Revolution of 1921, which ended the communist Chinese dominance, the Mongolian People’s Republic was established in 1924. The country also went through a peaceful democratic revolution in 1990, after which, the country’s ex-communist party competed for political power with the Democratic Party. In the wake of these political changes, homelessness in Mongolia, driven by a housing shortage, has become a significant concern.
Homelessness in Mongolia
Currently, homelessness is a huge issue the nation is trying to tackle. In Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, there are reports of homeless people living in the sewage system. To improve homelessness in Mongolia, the government and humanitarian organizations must determine the contributing factors, the individuals affected and the measures being taken.
Similar to many countries, homelessness in Mongolia is linked to a lack of affordable housing. Ulaanbaatar, for example, underwent rapid urbanization during the past decade. Mongolia’s mining boom in 2012 helped immensely in the urbanization of Mongolia. After the establishment of the Privatization Law, which allowed people to freely choose residence location, many Mongolians migrated to Ulaanbaatar for more job opportunities. Ulaanbaatar’s population, which was 650,000 people in 1998, increased to 1.49 million people in 2018. This migration to Ulaanbaatar was further encouraged by a series of flock-devastating winters which forced many nomadic populaces to migrate to the city.
Migration and Ger Areas
Many migrants set up Ger in the city, which is traditional Mongolian housings; around Ulaanbaatar, there are now numerous Ger areas. In 2018, the Mongolian officials estimated that 55% of the city, which is about 750,000 people, lived in Ger around Ulaanbaatar. These Ger areas, however, are not the optimal housing solution for Mongolia.
These houses aren’t connected to basic services such as running water, sewage and waste disposal systems. Because these housings rely on coal stoves in individual homes to provide heating during the harsh winters, the stoves are contributing to air pollution in Mongolia. While the Mongolian government is working to address the issue, receptivity to the new development plan was mixed.
Government Aims
While the recent economic boom in Mongolia improved housing to high-rises and luxury residents, there is still a lack of affordable housing units. Part of this is due to how the Mongolian government aims to renovate and update the antiquated Soviet-era housing. The Ulaanbaatar 2020 Master Plan and Development Approaches for 2030, which was approved in 2015, aims to redevelop Ulaanbaatar’s Ger district with new apartments and service centers.
Under the plan, development companies enter an agreement with the residents in the district. If 70% of the residents approve of the company’s development plan, the companies are allowed to begin the project. However, some residents are accusing these development companies of worsening homelessness in Mongolia by forcefully evicting residents. For the 30% of residents who do not approve of the development plans, there seems to be little legal protection for individual rights to housing. Many residents feel that the law doesn’t clearly state the rights of the residents during the city’s renovation of Ger districts.
Humanitarian Organization Support
Many organizations have released reports of their recommendations to Mongolia. Amnesty International, for example, emphasized the importance of protecting Mongolian residents from possibly over-zealous housing development projects. Other organizations are also encouraging the Mongolian government to expand city infrastructures to support the growing migrant population to Ulaanbaatar. Furthermore, these organizations are calling to reform Mongolia’s migrant registration system. By making it easier for migrants to register as urban residents, many believe that this will make it easier to obtain access to local social services and residential infrastructures.
Other international organizations are attempting to alleviate housing insecurity and homelessness in Mongolia. The Habitat for Humanity, for example, has built numerous homes in Mongolia. As early as 2009, Habitat for Humanity reported the building of homes for 1,500 Mongolian families.
Additionally, in July 2012, international volunteers from 12 countries came to Mongolia to build housing near Ulaanbaatar. This multinational project, “The Blue Sky Build Houses,” also worked with local volunteers to build 20 polystyrene blockhouses. These houses have excellent insulation and use less wood during construction. These houses also include energy-efficient stoves, which extend the heat generation time of coal-burning from two hours to eight hours.
Homelessness in Mongolia is a complex issue. While the Mongolian economic boom has created lucrative opportunities for many, it has also aided in housing insecurity because of the mass migration to Ulaanbaatar. This mass migration to the city shows the case of the lack of affordable housing in the capital city, which inevitably exacerbates the homelessness in Mongolia. Moving forward, additional efforts by the government and other international humanitarian organizations are crucial to providing affordable housing and reducing homelessness in the nation.
– YongJin Yi
Photo: Flickr
Rick Steves on “How Can We End World Hunger?”
The Borgen Project has published this article and podcast episode, “How Can We End World Hunger? Travel Expert Rick Steves Visits Guatemala and Ethiopia to Explore Answers,” with permission from The World Food Program (WFP) USA. “Hacking Hunger” is the organization’s podcast that features stories of people around the world who are struggling with hunger and thought-provoking conversations with humanitarians who are working to solve it.
Rick Steves is no stranger to exploration. The renowned travel expert has built his career around investigating the nooks and crannies of Europe and sharing his discoveries with curious travelers. Recently, however, Rick ventured beyond Europe to explore one of the most pressing problems of our day: the problem of global hunger. He documents his journey in a new TV special, Hunger and Hope: Lessons from Ethiopia and Guatemala.
On this episode of Hacking Hunger, we caught up with Rick to discuss what this project taught him about the challenges and innovative solutions to solving global hunger and the inspiring people and organizations (including WFP) he met along the way. Listen and discover what he found.
Click the link below to listen to Rick Steves’ views on how the world can end hunger.