Mongolia (Pilot)

Quick Facts

Duration: 5.5 weeks, 5 weeks of teaching
2012 Dates: June 1-July 8th

  • Arrival in Ulaanbaatar: 6/1
  • Orientation in Ulaanbaatar: 6/1-3
  • Teaching Begins: 6/4
  • Teaching Ends: 7/6
  • Post-Service Wrap-up: 7/7
  • Official end of LE Mongolia: 7/8
  • (optional) Naadam Festival: 7/11-13

Number of Volunteers: 4-6
Language Requirement: None.
Village Setting: Urban
Living Conditions: Fairly modern.

For questions not answered on this website, Contact Nhaca

Program History

PY 2012 marks LE Mongolia’s first year as a pilot program. The founding of LE’s Mongolia program was very much so fate. A former board member and founding father of LE, Niko Canner, was in Mongolia this past year at the World Economic Forum. There, he met Enky Zurgaanjin (LE Mongolia’s now-Country Coordinator), a member of the World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders program alongside Niko. Niko pitched the idea of LE Mongolia to Enky, who responded enthusiastically.

State-side, PY 12’s Managing Director, Nhaca Le, had recently developed a personal passion for all things Mongolian. When she heard at LE’s annual Board Retreat the potential for a pilot program in Mongolia, she jumped on the chance.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Program Structure

Program Year 2012 will be LE Mongolia’s first year as a program. Therefore, volunteers should be prepared for the unexpected.

Volunteers will fly into Mongolia’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar, on Friday, June 1st, 2012, where they will meet the country coordinator, program director, and other volunteers. Orientation will begin the next morning in Ulaanbaatar. This orientation will help familiarize volunteers with Mongolia, provide some information about education in Mongolia, gather lesson ideas, and promote team-building. On Sunday evening, volunteers will go home with their host families. Teaching will begin on the following Monday morning.

Your Host Community

Volunteers will all live in Ulaanbaator and teach at the Sant School . Living conditions will be comfortable but not up to western standards. Volunteers will likely live with one of their students, and travel to and from school alongside their student. Ulaanbaatar is a rapidly developing city in a developing country; therefore, volunteers should not be surprised to find an eclectic mix of ‘western’ as well as Mongolian options for food, shopping, etc.

Teaching

Approximately 200,000 students are currently enrolled in K-12 education in Ulaanbaator. LE volunteers will teach at the Sant School in Sukhbaatar District. They will be working with approximately 100-150 under-served, inner-city students. The Sant School is a private, not-for-profit school that caters to mostly middle and lower-class students. Many of these students are on full scholarships and come from nomadic backgrounds to attend school in the city. Volunteers will begin their lessons just as the school year in Mongolia has ended. Each class will likely consist of 20-25 students in secondary school.

Additional Information

Mongolia Addendum PY12, a field guide to life in-country.