Sewing a Better Future
Many teenagers complain about going to school—but, as Sharyn Brady reports, one young Mongolian seized an opportunity to learn and it made all the difference for a brighter future.
After finishing eighth grade, Oyunchimeg left school due to family circumstances.
For the next four years she stayed at home, unable to find employment. Her small village in the Zavkhan province of Mongolia didn’t have many job opportunities— especially for a young person with no experience and an incomplete education.
Oyunchimeg’s situation is not unusual.
Many young people in Mongolia face unemployment because they don’t have skills or experience, and aren’t able to access further education. Young people aged between 16 and 35 make up more than 65 per cent of Mongolia’s unemployed and are at serious risk of becoming a “lost generation.”
Oyunchimeg wanted more for her future. “I wanted to escape from here and make real changes in my life,” she says. Fortunately, she didn’t have to leave home or family. Change came when she was given the opportunity to join a vocational sewing course the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) ran in her village.
The sewing course, part of ADRA’s Youth Enterprise Project (YEP), was one of several vocational courses ADRA runs for at-risk and unemployed young people in Mongolia. Students are trained in a specific vocation, such as carpentry, baking, sewing, hairdressing, beauty training or souvenir making.
The two-month courses are held in six centres around Mongolia, located in regions that have high proportions of disadvantaged youth. The project is growing, with a total of 60 training sessions benefiting 900 young people over a two-year period.
The YEP allows young people access to training they would otherwise not receive, and equips them with skills necessary for employment. During the program, Oyunchimeg learned how to sew clothing. In addition to this specific vocational training, the program helped her improve her interpersonal skills and increase her self-esteem.
The training enables young people to reverse the poverty cycle they would otherwise be trapped in and gives them tools to secure their future. “This program has already made a real change in my life and I don’t think of moving to the city anymore. I’ve already found my position in this life and this community,”
says Oyunchimeg.
The YEP courses also focus on smallbusiness development, covering topics such as business plans, marketing, managing loans and savings. Many students continue their education, find employment or start their own small business, benefitting their local communities.
Now she has finished the course, Oyunchimeg will put her knowledge into practice—she plans to open a shop with two fellow graduates. They have already received orders for clothing.
Oyunchimeg wants to continue her studies. “I have a dream to go to university and upgrade what I’ve learned from this program. I want to be a designer.”
Oyunchimeg says the course has changed her life. “It’s given meaning to my life and hope for the future.”
Most of Mongolia’s unemployed young people don’t have access to facilities to continue their studies and develop the skills necessary for employment.
ADRA can provide them with the opportunity to escape the poverty cycle and secure their future—but this is only possible with your help. Your continuing support of ADRA means young people like Oyunchimeg can turn their dreams into realities, and create a brighter future for themselves.
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