Habitat for Humanity Mongolia
| Contact information | HFH Mongolia
PO Box 36/343
J S Tower, 10th Floor,
Narnii Zaam 81, 5th Khoroo, Sukhbaatar District,
Ulaanbaatar 14253
Mongolia
Phone: +976 11315732
Fax: +976 11316506
E-mail: mongolhabitat@hfh.mn
| | Web site | www.hfh.mn
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Mongolia -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
FLANKED BY GIANT neighbors Russia and China, Mongolia is a vast country with wide open steppes, desert lands and snow-capped mountains. Known as the Land of the Blue Sky, Mongolia’s extreme temperatures mean hardship for the population, many of whose lives still revolve round herding. Droughts, and unusually cold and snowy winters, have in the past wiped out livestock and destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of nomadic herding families.
Over the past two decades, Mongolia has been a country in transition. The fall of the Soviet-style communism in 1990 resulted in a planned economy giving way to a market one. Investors now flock to the mineral wealth; tourists to the natural beauty. But the transition has not been without pain: many people face low wages, unemployment and a lack of affordable housing.
There has been a construction boom within the country with many new residential blocks being built. However, they are oft en expensive. Many families continue to live in run down Soviet-era apartments and in overcrowded conditions.
The capital, Ulaanbaatar, where one third of the population lives, is growing rapidly. The growth is especially fast in the outskirts where people from the inner city as well as rural-urban migrants have settled in ger areas. (Gers are traditional Mongolian tents.)
More than 30 percent of Mongolians live below the poverty level. In Ulaanbaatar, poverty is highest among migrants and those living in ger settlements, according to a United Nations-funded survey. In addition, these ger residents face problems of overcrowding as well as a lack of access to water supply and health services.
HFH Mongolia was set up in 1999 to address the need for decent and affordable housing. It has four affiliates. One in the capital operates program centers in Zuunmod, Bagakhangai, Baganuur and Nalaikh. The other three affiliates are in Darkhan, Erdenet and Khangai. The latter also operates program centers in Arvaikheer and Kharkhorin.
Habitat has rolled out a variety of housing microfinance models to help families to build, renovate or repair their homes. One is Habitat’s Save & Build model where families form groups to save between 30 percent and 40 percent of the cost of their new houses. Habitat and its partners contribute the remaining cost to enable a few houses to be built at a time. Habitat home partners also put in “sweat equity”, or their own labor, to build their own houses as well as those of others in the savings group. The Save & Renovate model enables home partners to make specific home improvements while the Save & Repair model allows families to make small repairs.
Habitat enjoys a good relationship with local government authorities, resulting in families receiving land certificates and achieving secure land tenure. The local authorities usually also provide families with access to electricity and water.
A typical Habitat home measures up to 36 sq. m. in size and is constructed with bricks or concrete blocks, wood, concrete roof sheeting and Styrofoam for insulation against the harsh winter. Toilets are built separately.
Construction usually takes about 20 days. Because of the weather conditions, building is only possible from May to October each year. The average loan repayment period is about four years with home partners repaying about US$24-50 a month.
HFH Mongolia has built partnerships with international agencies, non-governmental organizations and corporations to extend the reach of its programs. Its partners include World Vision Mongolia, Vision Fund Mongolia, the Korea International Cooperation Agency, United Nations Development Program, the British Embassy, United States Embassy, Xac Bank and local mining company South Gobi Sands Resources.
Mongolia is a favorite destination for Global Village build teams. Over the years, HFH Mongolia has hosted dozens of teams from places like Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and the United States.
HABITAT HIGHLIGHTS
• In March 2010, HFH Mongolia organized a charity dinner, Curry for a Cause, to generate interest, raise funds and attract volunteers for Blue Sky Build.
• In October 2009, Habitat celebrated its 1,500th family served in Mongolia.
• For the Building on Faith program in September 2009, 96 volunteers from 25 churches helped build homes in Arvaikheer, Darkhan and Erdenet.
• In June 2009, staff from the US Embassy in Ulaanbaatar helped to build a home together with a family who had been living in a ger, or traditional Mongolian tent, for a decade
• HFH Mongolia and XAC Bank signed a memorandum of understanding in January 2009 to assist 300 families to improve their housing conditions through the provision of housing finance.
• Between April 2007 and the end of 2009, HFH Mongolia and its partner World Vision helped more than 180 families in Ulaanbaatar, Erdenet and Darkhan to build or renovate their homes HFH Mongolia and a local bank, XAC Bank, signed an MOU in January 2009 to assist 300 families to improve their housing conditions through the provision of housing finance.
COUNTRY FACTS
Population: 3,086,918 (July 2010 est.)
Capital: Ulaanbaatar
Area: 1,564,116 sq. km.
Ethnic groups: Mongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1% (2000)
Languages: Khalka Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999)
Religions: Buddhist Lamaist 50%, none 40%, Muslim 4%, Christian or Shamanist 6% (2004)
Literacy: 97.8% (2000 census)
Urbanization: 57% (2008)
Population Living on US$1.25 a Day: 22% (2005)
Access to Improved Water Sources: 76% (2009)
Access to Improved Sanitation Facilities: 50% (2009)
Sources: CIA World Factbook, World Bank
Updated January 2011