Fostering an Inclusive Environment for the Disabled (FIELD)
Mercy Corps
www.mercycorps.org.mn
Start-up administration
FIELD project documentation has been translated into Mongolian and a Project Manager and Project Officer have been recruited and started work.
Detailed assessment
Through January, the project team met with 9 Disabled People's Organizations (DPOs) to discuss the challenges they face and to establish the basis for future collaboration. Five of those DPOs are based in Ulaanbaatar including the: Association of Parents with Disabled Children, Association of Independent Trade Unions of Disabled People of Mongolia, Mongolian Federation of Disabled Persons, AIFO (an Italian NGO that works on disability issues in Mongolia), and the National Association of Blind People. The remaining four DPOs are all based in Uvurhangai Aimag: the AIFO "Tegsh Duuren" program, the Branch of the Federation of Disabled People's Organizations, the Branch of Association of Independent Trade Unions of Disabled People of Mongolia, and the Association of Parents with Disabled Children (an informal grouping).
The meetings helped Mercy Corps establish the capacity, advocacy expertise and future priorities of the DPOs. The DPOs expressed different priorities for improving current legislation as it concerns people with disabilities. Some emphasized the need for developing regulations and procedural law; some were keen to draw attention to increasing legal knowledge among people with disabilities, and others wanted amendments made to a variety of national laws.
The Mongolian Federation of Disabled People's Organizations (MFDPO) was found to be struggling to maintain its provincial operations, which may hamper its efforts to act as a focal point for all DPOs. Nevertheless, the MFDPO intends to lead a collaborative meeting with 30 DPOs in the near future and this will make a strong starting point for developing a detailed joint workplan and moving ahead with Task Force formation.
Mercy Corps also developed an extensive database of information, activities in the disabled community, key contact people, and educational materials.
Future events
In February, Mercy Corps will assist the MFDPO in organizing a stakeholder meeting and developing a detailed workplan for the next 6 months. Assessment of DPOs will also continue through the month, as will ongoing study of the current legal environment. DPOs in Dundgobi Aimag will be the focus of February's research.
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