Mercy Corps works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability to unleash the potential of people who can win against nearly impossible odds. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided $1.3 billion in assistance to people in 100 nations. Supported by headquarters offices in North America, Europe and Asia, the agency's unified global programs employ 3,400 staff worldwide and reach nearly 14.4 million people in more than 35 countries.

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Contact the Mission

USAID/Mongolia
P.O. Box 1021
Ulaanbaatar-13
MONGOLIA
Phone: 976-11-312390
Fax: 976-11-310440
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April 2009

Fostering an Inclusive Environment for the Disabled (FIELD)

Mercy Corps
www.mercycorps.org.mn

Complete Design of Advocacy Campaign with Task Force

During the reporting period, the Task Force met 3 times. Task Force discussions focused on construction and public transportation issues and identified 3 major challenges that face People with Disabilities daily: access to public buildings, access to public transport and use of walkways.

Accessible buildings: The Task Force's work on improving the accessibility of public buildings is being conducted in close cooperation with AIFO which chairs the working group developing Construction Standards together with the Department of Construction and Public Communal Services. Disabled People's Organizations supported by the FIELD Project have now become members of this working group and it is expected that work developing General Construction Standards will be completed through June and subsequently submitted to the National Standards and Measurement Centre for approval. After approval has been received, the working group will develop more detailed standards for specific buildings such as hospitals, schools, and administrative buildings. It is anticipated that the process of developing standards and getting approval for each will take until the end of the calendar year.

Public transportation: In order to start an advocacy campaign on public transportation issues, it is important to start by gathering precise and actual data and information. In this regard, Mercy Corps has constructed a detailed workplan giving responsibility to different organizations within the Task Force for each activity. 3 DPOs are now cooperating under each activity with one lead DPO coordinating each. Initially, Mercy Corps will conduct a survey in Songinokhairkhan District, Ulaanbaatar, to identify People with Disabilities who are enthusiastic to engage more actively in a campaign for access to public transportation, but are restricted due to their inability to currently use public transportation. The survey will take place in June following the Presidential election. Meanwhile, members of the Task Force will study documentation and other country experiences and develop the Task Force relationship with government officials. Upon completion of the survey and other preparatory works, a one-day seminar will be organized for government organizations as a first activity led by the Task Force in line with the advocacy campaigns.

Walkway: Walkway (sidewalk) standards for People with Disabilities were approved in 2006. Unfortunately, nobody follows this standard due to lack of detail in the policy instructions. The engineering company "Auto Road Project" LLC, which assisted the working group in design of initial standards, has agreed to revise the standards to include guidelines for users on building walkways in various settings. Mercy Corps is working in cooperation with AIFO on this issue.

Disabled People's Organizations Capacity Assessment

The capacity assessment of Disabled People's Organizations (DPOs) concluded in April. Mercy Corps organized a two-day training for local DPOs in each of the three target aimags and used a self-evaluation methodology combined with the "Smart Growth" and "Making the Case" tools for the evaluation. Training included theoretical knowledge on different functions, status and types of legal organization, NGO Board activities and roles in the organization, organization structure and strategic planning, the influence of the environment on future development, and how to develop organization vision and mission. Presentations were followed by self-evaluation tasks among rural DPOs and local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). Local CSOs, who worked with Mercy Corps in the past under the USAID-funded TAN Project, were brought in to lead these training as they are more experienced than DPOs and can, in future, provide support and advice to newly established DPOs. Although there were significant differences between CSOs and DPOs in terms of their capacity and experience, the dialogue was useful as they helped all organizations to visulaize their development plans, strengths and weaknesses, and to compare them with others.

In total 30 people from 10 DPOs in Uvurkhangai (4 DPOs), Arkhangai (4 DPOs) and Dundgobi (2 DPOs) participated in the DPO self-evaluation capacity assessment training. All DPOs who attended the training will be required to complete 12-month activity plans in May that include capacity building and other plans that include broad participation of their membership.

Major Future Events

A study will be conducted by the Mongolian Federation of Disabled People's Organizations and a team of lawyers and researchers. The study will compare current Mongolian legislation with the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People. A booklet will be produced later describing their findings and focusing on how those findings relate to People with Disabilities and Disabled People's Organizations.