25 YEARS OF JICA VOLUNTEERS IN MONGOLIA MARKED

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ A ceremony was held on September 29 to mark the 25th anniversary of volunteering of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Mongolia. The ceremony was attended by dignitaries and JICA volunteers. Toshinobu Kato, Director General, East and Central Asia and the Causasus Department of JICA said, “Our volunteers talk about their experiences of introducing new technologies and sharing knowledge in Mongolia. The volunteers who are usually young adults learn from Mongolians. Young Japanese who worked in and learned the history and culture of Mongolia become an important bridge between the two countries. Therefore, we want our volunteers to work in every part of Mongolia.” Some 643 JICA volunteers have served in Mongolia since 1992 when the first two volunteers came to Mongolia. JICA volunteer Tadano Mariko, faculty at the 10th kindergarten of Orkhon aimag shared her experience, saying that she wanted to work in a developing country. “My imaginations about Mongolia centered around steppe, herders and sumo wrestlers before I came. After my arrival in Ulaanbaatar, I realized that it is a modern, developed city. But it was really cold, so I wanted to go back. Then I went to Orkhon aimag in summer and loved the natural beauty”. She continued, “Mongolian children are very strong and don’t like losing or being bullied. They speak their mind without fear. Mongolian teachers work really hard. For instance, only two teachers deal with 25-40 children in Ulaanbaatar. This is teacher-centered approach. I think Mongolia needs to adapt student-centered approach to education.” JICA volunteer Morimoto Naotaka who worked as judo coach in 1999-2001 said, “I think I laid sufficient foundation for judo training in Mongolia. Mongolian judokas can excel if they are trained from childhood. Mongolians are very strong which you can see in their leading performance in Japanese sumo. Therefore, Mongolian judokas can lead the world too.” Kh.Aminaa