The Job

Those of you who regularly visit my Blog will no doubt be wondering when I will be doing any work. Well, you will be glad to know that I have actually started work on the project VSO assigned me to as of Monday, the 25th September. And I have to say, it is a cracker!! It may sound a bit crazy, but I signed up to this gig without really knowing what I was letting myself in for. In the event, what I thought I was about to do for the next 2 years was a bit off the mark!!!

The Project,
“……….will focus on building a public–private sector partnership to design, implement and provide for the financing of a modular, non-formal skills training programme for the construction industry. This is to be achieved by drawing together resources from the construction companies, public and private training providers, and the relevant government agencies. The project will target the unemployed out-of-school youth and poor adults living in Ulaanbataar.”

This is the Third Component of the Third Educational Development Project, funded by the Japan Fund For Poverty Reduction (JFPR). The first component covers the development of the national curriculum and the second is to improve the teaching and learning environments in primary and secondary schools.

We are currently setting up an office in the Ministry of Construction and Urban Development – National Housing Centre to the west of the State Department Store along Peace Avenue. (Every place in UB is referenced to Peace Avenue and The State Department Store). Baigal, the project coordinator and myself are the first to be recruited to the project, so our initial task is to set up the Project Implementation Unit (PIU). I also have a interpreter, Aruinaa who works with me 4 hours a day. If we can recruit all the staff needed for the project, there will eventually be 7 of us working on the project over the next three years. All very exciting and interesting.



From my desk I look out over the start of the Ger district and I can just see the roof of The Megid Janraysig Temple. Amazing. How the hell did I get here!!!!!