This weeks blog: I have chosen to review the website www.childhoodpoverty.org. Particularly, I have not had any luck reaching out to other early childhood professionals in other countries and I did not find any archived pod casts that were relevant to this weeks topic (that were relevant to my interests). Therefore, I studied the state of poverty and childhood poverty in Mongolia.
The state of poverty in Mongolia is very detrimental with very little initiatives for change! "Rapid structural adjustment" to this economy; moving from a socialist to Democratic state beginning in 1990 was a difficult transition for Mongolian families. During this transition period unemployment rose yet social services were cut. This of course drastically increased the amount of poverty throughout Mongolia.
The only current data for this population is from 1998 at which time 36% of the entire population lived below the poverty line. Although new studies are underway, little improvement in this percentage is expected.
Also, due to lack of quality and quantity in health services, 30% of children under five had low height and 10% were underweight. And, in 1998, 50% of the population did not have adequate drinking water.
Another startling revelation for this area is; because of harsh economic times, many children are working to bring home money for their families rather than going to school. In 1990, 96% of the population was illiterate!
Initiatives to turn the tables on poverty in Mongolia are underway. However, they are merely plans with action and progress moving very slowly.
Reviewing this information made me very sad for these families! Due to political ramifications and changes - which they had little control over - their lives are in constant transition. I can only hope that ultimately the changes will be for the better and one day Mongolia can reduce the struggles of their people. This also made me very thankful to live in America! Although we still struggle with poverty we do have services that help, there are places for families to turn and we have education systems in place to ensure that every child has access to education!
About Me
- Tammy
- I am a thirty one year old Montana gal. I am fiercely independent and enjoy quiet time just as much as I love to spend time with my friends and family!
Hi Tammy. I found this information very interesting. We don't often think to research developing countries such as Mongolia. Also, we (or at least I) often forget that developing countries are highly susceptible to poverty. Because the country is developing, it may be assumed that things are getting better for everyone...but that is not always the case. It is also scary to thing what impact poverty has on the children and the literacy rate of this country. I am glad efforts are in place to assist this population.
ReplyDeleteTammy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your information on Mongolia. I was so shocked to see that 50% of the population had inadequate drinking water. I can' even imagine this. The illiterate rate is beyond belief. With such a high percentage (96%), I can't imagine that the country will get out of poverty. The youths are not acquiring skills to help conquer this issue.