Grandmother grows a future for her family

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Fifty-year-old Chogdon drinks a cup of salty milk tea [a traditional Mongolian beverage], while beads of sweat trickle from her forehead down her nose.

Chogdon and her daughter, 13-year-old Oyungerel, are on a quick break from work, toiling in the fields, a job that consumes them for nearly every waking hour, 6am until 9pm.

“These potatoes are our first harvest of the year,” she says, motioning to the field “We planted potatoes, carrots and turnips. I like this work.”

Chogdon is putting into practice what she’s learned from World Vision – how to grow root vegetables in the short Mongolian summer. On average, Mongolia is only warm enough to grow vegetables from the end of May to September.

Oyungerel, who is on school holiday, helps by pulling weeds in the fields.

This harvest is one of hope. And it’s one that indicates a big change in Chogdon’s life.
Chogdon is a widow with five children.

“My family was shepherds. But my husband passed away and I left with my five children and nine cows, two horses and a few sheep and goats. Then, we had a severe winter in 2000 which killed thousands of animals. All my horses and cows died. I was left with fewer sheep and goats. My older children and me didn’t have any work. We tended them as best we could, but it was out of our hands.”

Chogdon takes a deep breath before sharing, “I take care of my 80 year old uncle. Still, I have to take care of my uncle.”

Taking care of family elders is traditional in Mongolian culture.

“Then I left the animals with my relative’s to plant vegetables having help from World Vision in 2005. I started with 20 kilograms of potatoes given by World Vision. They trained us and took us for an exposure trip to two provinces in the following year.”

Despite the dry and rocky ground in the area she lives in Uvurkhangai province, World Vision pioneered an economic development project with a working group of 5 local families, planting vegetables.

“World Vision gathered us together to teach us how to plant and inspired us to initiate a working group, which is going well. I am happy! I like the World Vision staff, Bayarmaa, who is a very honest person. She helps us to increase our income,” Chogdon says. 

Over the past 8 years, the community garden project has been a success, from a working group of 5 to 50 to plant and sell vegetables.

For Chogdon, the rewards of her labour have been huge. “I even bought a ger [a traditional Mongolian shelter] and a motorcycle for my son,” she says with a smile.

Now, the economic working group is beginning to build a storage area for the vegetables.
Chogdon also got help from World Vision to keep Ovungerel in school.

Oyungerel is part of the child sponsorship programme. She says confidently, “I participate in a school report meeting every month where we analyse students’ grades, hygiene, social participation, etc.”

These child participation meetings help World Vision to monitor the children’s progress and provide them with better support.

After working hard in the field, three generations of the family play together on their way home. Chogdon’s family relaxes at home in their brightly-decorated ger, sharing jokes with one another.