MONGOLIA

Mission start 2006
Impacted population 4,000

Prevent rural exodus by lifting vulnerable families out of poverty and boosting children’s cultural and educational skills.

Context

Mongolia is a landlocked country between Russia in the north and China in the south, with particularly difficult climate conditions. In the winter, the temperature can drop to minus 40°C in some areas, while in the summer, the heat can be unbearable, exceeding 40°C.

Almost half of the country’s population – 3 million people – live in the capital. Rural-urban migration is a major problem in Mongolia, generating entire neighborhoods made out of yurts on the outskirts of Oulan-Bator. Unfortunately, migrants have very few job opportunities and live in extremely precarious sanitary conditions.

According to the Mongolian National Statistics Office, in 2018, 29.6% of Mongolians were poor according to the national poverty line. An additional 15% of the total population is just above the national poverty line, at risk of falling into poverty in the event of unforeseen shocks, such as COVID-19, which let to successive periods of strict containment. It should also be noted that all schools were closed for two years, with serious consequences for many children. Furthermore, seven out of ten poor people did not have access to any of the basic infrastructure services (improved drinking water, sanitation, or a sustainable heat source).

FXB in action

The aïmag of Dornogovi, a province located in the southeastern part of the Gobi Desert, is limited to a vast, flat and desolate area. 23.2% of its 67,000 inhabitants live in great poverty, with an unemployment rate of 68%. The majority of the families, both nomadic and sedentary, depend on breeding (goats, sheep, cows, horses and camels).

The main challenges they face are very low employment opportunities, unsustainable sources of income, limited access to services and vocational training opportunities, drop out, isolation, limited access to the capital necessary for the development of microenterprises and very low knowledge in terms of comprehensive financial information. Lack of hope, alcoholism and unsanitary housing, especially yurts, are also major problems. 

Our main objective is to help families in this desertic region create or seize opportunities where they live rather than migrate to the city of Oulan-Bator.

FXB has already led two VillageFXB economic and community development projects there, which have helped to significantly improve the quality of life of a thousand adults and children.

Image of MONGOLIA
MONGOLIA
Asia
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Population
3 million
GDP per capita
3,813 €
HDI
96/191
Life expectancy
70 years old

Our ongoing programs

Coordination and implementation: FXB International
Financial partners: Badrakh Energy CSR, Eurofins Foundation and Magic Libraries Foundation.

The poorest people in Dornogovi face a variety of complex challenges. It would be a mistake to address only the issue of income. Partial assistance, which only addresses one cause of poverty, is not a sufficient solution to overcome it.

A third VillageFXB economic and community development project currently underway enables us to provide a comprehensive response to the fundamental causes of poverty by simultaneously acting on its predominant factors. It also aims to combat gender discrimination and balance relations between men and women, so that the latter, who are more exposed to poverty, can access the same economic and social opportunities.

An after-school education, life skills development and fixed and mobile library project has also been set up in 2023 to reduce the consequences of two years of school drop-out and isolation due to Covid-19 pandemy. 

 
Testimonial

Our FXBVillage programmes have brought about a real change in attitude among the people of the Gobi Desert, from a passive attitude of waiting for potential government subsidies to a positive, entrepreneurial attitude. Even local authorities recognize the effectiveness and impact of our actions on the population.

Erdenetuya Jambal, FXB Mongolia Program Director
MONGOLIA
FXBVillage - economic empowerment

FXBVillage economic and community development programs in Mongolia

Mission impact

  • In December 2018, 526 children and adults from the Dornogovi aïmag achieved socio-economic autonomy after three years of participation in the FXBVillage program. In terms of results, our final evaluation shows that the average families’ income is 162% higher than the income received at the beginning of the project and that they are able, on average, to save 17% of their income. 100% of the families eat 3 meals a day (compared to 12% at the beginning of the project). 100% of the families have access to an improved sanitary facility. 80% of the young graduates at the end of a vocational training course have found a job. 
  • The FXB Mongolia team and the families benefiting from its FXBVillage poverty reduction program have participated in the planting of nearly 90,000 trees adapted to the poor and arid soil of Dornogobi Aimag.
  • In December 2019, FXB Mongolia received the Dornogovi aïmag’s best NGO award in its category, development.
  • In October 2017, FXB Mongolia was awarded the “Mongolian Quality” trophy, rewarding the best NGOs in the country. Our project manager, Erdenetuya Jambal also received the “Best Manager” medal recognizing the quality of her work with the FXB Mongolia team and the vulnerable communities of the Dornogovi aïmag. 

 

  • Discover the documentary (in French) La Mongolie en Sursis, produced by Canal 9 (Switzerland) in 2002, which followed Albina du Boisrouvray, founder and honorary president of FXB, and her team on a mission to evaluate an HIV prevention project in the Selenge province (400 km north of the capital Ulan Bator).

The FXB project was set up at the invitation of the Minister of Health, who wished to benefit from the association’s experience in India. It was successfully completed in 2007, and the resulting operations were passed on to the Ministry of Health.