Literacy is changing lives in Mongolia.

Can you imagine being 16 years of age, and only just receiving the opportunity to go to school? I can’t, but that’s the reality of a young lady whose student profile is lying on my desk.

Her name is Munkhtsetseg Bayambasuren. She is 16 and she is in grade 1 – but not in the Mongolian school system; she’s in Asian Outreach’s Literacy Program.

Munkhtsetseg’s father passed away; her mother abandoned her and her two brothers. Today they survive by staying with other families in their home village, Uliastai. Her older brother tends herds, but really doesn’t make enough to support the three of them.

Munkhtsetseg never went to school, because they couldn’t afford the basics like stationery and school fees. You can imagine how excited she was when her brother told her about the literacy classes – and said he had enrolled her!

Sixteen and in grade 1 – but at least there’s hope that basic education will provide opportunities for this young lady that she never had before. If you ask her what she’d like to become, she’ll tell you: “A doctor!”

Is it possible? Sure it is. We’ve all heard miracle stories. We all know that a helping hand brings the seemingly impossible within reach.

Our ministry is grateful for the financial support of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in the Mongolia Literacy Program. We are also pleased to have World Vision Mongolia assisting the program with some very practical support, like stationery, snacks and uniforms.

In Bayankhongor Province, five agencies have formed a strategic partnership to better serve the needs of that area, literacy included.

Partnership and collaboration send a strong message: together, we can make many of today’s social problems history – and bring a message of hope.

For more information on our Literacy Program, visit us at www.asianoutreach.ca.

– Noel Hutchinson, executive director, Asian Outreach International (Canada)

Winter/Summer 2008