DECP goes to the edge

Sometimes at DECP we have to go to the edge in our ambition to serve our partners. In the case of MONEF, our Mongolian partner, our help was solicited for its regional organisations in the Far West of this vast country. Capacity building was the aim of our visit; Rogier Chorus was pleased to do the job. On Tuesday 3 July he took a turbo-prop plane from capital Ulaanbaatar to Ölgii, the provincial capital of the most westerly province of Mongolia. Just outside this place, in a traditional so called ‘ger’ encampment on the banks of the river Khovd, workshops were held for 20 participants from the three western provinces Uvz, Khovd, and receiving Bayan-Ölgii.

Issues were discussed like membership, communication and lobbying-advocacy policies. It turned out that the organisational infrastructure of the three MONEF organisations in these provinces is very limited, but this is compensated by the great drive and commitment of the participants. They agreed to strengthen the cooperation between the three, and with the central headquarters of MONEF. Having returned at the end of the week, after a four-hour flight (!) to Ulaanbaatar, Rogier discussed the preparation of a long-term project on (vocational) skills support with MONEF Director Ganbaatar before flying home again.