| Peace
Winds Japan 2-11-5 Sakurashinmachi, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 154-0015 Japan Telephone: +81-3-5451-5400 Facsimilie: +81-3-5451-5401 www.peace-winds.org meet@peace-winds.org |
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Special Appreciation to |
| Annual Report FY2002 Top Message From the Chairperson Iraq and Afghanistan Mongolia Indonesia East Timor Sierra Leone Activities in Japan Focusing on the Future Major Activities in FY2002 List of Overseas Offices Time Line Organizational Structure Financial Statement for FY2002 PWJ English Top |
| Mongolia To Prevent Further Poverty The main focus of Peace Winds Japan's (PWJ's) activities in Mongolia is support for children, especially those from families suffering financial hardship. Here, a vicious circle of poverty is taking shape. Children of poor families, mainly in urban areas, are growing up to form an additional poverty group. PWJ is working to eliminate future poverty by helping children gain skills important to life-long self-reliance.  Poverty
in Mongolia was triggered during the chaos in the 1990's, after the transition
of its economic system from socialism to market economy. The impact of this change
was extensive: many workers were laid off due to downsizing, and significant numbers
of nomads fell into poverty after livestock became privatized. The massive conflagration
that occurred in August of 1996 brought additional hardship to the Mongolian people.
It was the emergency relief in response to this disaster that led PWJ to conduct
assistance operations in Mongolia.The situation is still deteriorating. Large numbers of nomads have become victims of the heavy snowstorms that have occurred consecutively since 1999, forcing them to move to urban areas in search of employment. In the urban areas, however, social utilities have started to charge fees, making it barely possible for the poor to receive even fundamental welfare services. PWJ is especially concerned about the children of such families, many of whom have dropped out from school and or have started living on the streets.  One attempt
to offer assistance is our "Khot Ail (pronounced h? tail) s," shelters
for children of poor families. These shelters, constructed and managed by PWJ,
are currently home to approximately 40 children who live with staff members and
devote themselves to study and vocational training. Providing educational support
for the children of families living on garbage dumps is another activity that
PWJ is emphasizing. Such families are living on the minimal earnings they make
by collecting and selling garbage. We have also continued to provide psychiatric
counseling services at juvenile reformatories. Through such activities, we aim
to assist the sound development of children and empower them to lead self-reliant
lives.Another of our priorities is the reinforcement of the structural bases of the local society. The educational assistance that PWJ provides in Mongolia can be defined as fundamental welfare service. However, the ideal is for such service to be initiated by local governments, municipalities, or local NGOs, with PWJ securing the flanks. With this aim, we have conducted training courses for local assistance agencies so that they may build their capacity to work towards the independent livelihood of the local people. |
