Mongolian Universities

I have to tell you about Today in Mongolia!  It was such an amazing experience!  This morning after breakfast, we got taxis and went with the police chief to the Law Enforcement University of Mongolia.  It was a very formal affair and they referred to us as diplomats.  They took us to the 4th floor and invited us to sit around a conference table.  We had several interpreters.  It was so official and impressive.  They even gave us gifts when our discussion was done.  They also escorted us in really nice suburban vehicles to our next destination when we were done! In the meeting was the Chief of Police, The Vice President/Professor/Police Colonel and the Head of Foreign Affairs.  

The Vice President spent a lot of time explaining legal reform and the changes they are working on.  We discussed some of the challenges Mongolian inmates face, such as, integrating back into the community upon release and laws to support work place upon release from prison.  There is a focus by the University on Human Rights and Social Work Services.  They are working to make the prison windows larger and are learning from other countries to help reduce the prison population here in Mongolia.  They also are starting a psychology/mental health concentration this year at the college which they are very excited about.  The Vice President wants to network with western countries in a spirit of cooperation to implement successful western ideas.  They want to share their research findings with us and invited us to exchange teachers/professors and social workers at the University.  Most of the professors at the Law Enforcement University have studied in Russia and then come back to teach here.  The Vice President said that the U.S. is considered Mongolia's third neighbor.  I felt like that was quite a compliment!

The Police Chief talked about the importance of children's rights.  There is an increase in neglect of children now that the country is democratic.  He said that through the welfare system that is in place now, about 95% of children are returned to their parents.  The rest are placed in orphanages or foster care.  He is concerned about what to do with the 5% that are not returned home and often turn to living on the streets.  There are child care organizations that the police department is working with to help provide services to homeless children.  About half of all the homeless children are addicted to video gaming.  The Police Chief is working with the City Mayor to educate the homeless children about the harm involved with all night gaming.  They are also working on research to design a school for the homeless children population to provide education and vocational training.

This morning. meeting with the Police Chief, Vice President, and Head of Foreign Affairs gave me a better understanding of how the educational system is working with heads of legal organizations to improve social services here in Mongolia.  I also realized that the struggles in Mongolia are not so different than the struggles we have in the U.S.  

This afternoon we went to the National University of Mongolia to present our information about child welfare, veteran affairs and post traumatic stress disorder to social work students studying for their bachelors.  It was interesting presenting through an interpreter.  It made the process slower but it was fun to see them get excited about what we were presenting.  When we asked them why they chose social work as a profession, their reasons for wanting to be in the field were somewhat different than mine.  In Mongolia they test the students and those that score high on the exam can choose fields such as medicine and law.  Those that test low can choose social work.  Throughout my time in Mongolia, it has become apparent that the social worker's role is not valued.  Some of the students we talked to said they didn't really know about social work but really liked their sociology classes and then discovered social work.  

This has been a great educational day filled with lots of building bridges between two countries! I feel it an honor and a privilege to be experiencing and learning abroad.

Conference table at the Law Enforcement University

Our cool ride in the Police SUV to the next University

Getting my gift from the Vice President

Our meeting at the Law Enforcement University of Mongolia

Jerry was very impressive in our exchange of ideas

They consider us diplomats!

Social Work Students at National University of Mongolia

This has been a great educational day filled with lots of building bridges between two countries! I feel it an honor and a privilege to be experiencing and learning abroad.

National University of Mongolia

There is a lot of construction going on inside the universities as well as outside.  There was some beautiful craftsmanship at the National University of Mongolia

Waiting to do our presentations at the National University of Mongolia

Beautiful craftsmanship

These are the trucks that the students ride in to reach the countryside for their practicums.  There are about 25 students per truck and they take tents to sleep in or sometimes they sleep under the stars.  They spend some time in each town before moving to the next.  I admire their dedication!