Contractors and local volunteers work side by side to widen the local road.
The Global Peace Foundation is invested in the successful development of communities by building models of self-reliance. Its international chapters are empowering community leaders and members to address problems by maximizing their local resources – human, natural and financial. It is through this holistic approach that GPF is working not only to strengthen local communities but also to contribute to national transformations around the world.
In Mongolia, communal self-reliance and interdependence are advancing in rural revitalization projects. Two districts in the larger Darkhan-Uul Province are taking up challenges that are everyday realities for their communities. Leaders and members of the province are engaging in a much-needed infrastructure facelift, including repaved roads, sidewalk creation, and more bus stops, in addition to education about why public transportation is important.
Mixing cement for a new sidewalk.
Darkhan-Uul, one of the 21 provinces in Mongolia, is the second largest economic hub of the nation, but transportation for many local communities is still highly underdeveloped. Districts outlying the town centers, while underserviced by public works projects, are coming together with local organizations and overcoming these obstacles as a communal unit.
With two recent projects, over 120 community members came together in acts of service and self-reliant development. The first project included bulldozing and paving a road and sidewalk for further ease and safety of travel.
Local stakeholders and residents of Darkhan-Uul with Global Peace Foundation – Mongolia at a project site.
By engaging leaders and local citizens to articulate the needs of their community and being an active part in finding solutions and implementing them, GPF is working to bring hope and positive change to neglected communities. The second project in District 8, with a population of just 250 of mostly elderly and youth with limited access to public transportation, almost a hundred people joined forces to establish the first covered bus stop to service the rural community. Along with the upgrading transportation infrastructure, GPF and its partners have also been working to provide education to the citizens on how to best utilize public transportation service, since travel in much of rural Mongolia still heavily relies on horses.
An age old Mongolian proverb says, “Union is the source for success.” While there may always be obstacles to overcome, when individuals, families and communities come together, the tall mountains to climb become mere rolling hills.
