Living On Purpose: Peace Corps Mongolia Youth Life Skills Development

December 2, 2013

Peace Corps Mongolia Youth Life Skills Development

The Govi-Altai Health Department conducts an annual provincial wide monitoring and evaluation campaign every November. Our director, UNFPA project officer, structure engineer and maternal

Govi-Altai Province

childhood health specialist and myself participated in this years trip. We visited a total of 8 soums (villages) covering over 500 kilometers. Working alongside UNFPA project officer Bayanjargal and secondary school teachers we facilitated youth life skills.

Life skills are the psychological and social abilities that enable a person to adapt to and deal effectively with the demands and challenges of daily life. There are many life skills, but two main areas of life skills are personal management skills and social skills. Peace Corps in partnerships with UNFPA develop a series of manuals to build and strengthen the life skills capacity of youth age 13-18.

Peace Corps Mongolia Life Skills Books

Young people in Mongolia are growing up in a society that is undergoing a major transition even as they, themselves, are in a period of transition to adulthood. As part of an increasingly globalized world, they have to deal with an ever-widening number of influences and difficulties. As part of an economic system that is undergoing dramatic change, their families and communities are also confronting greater challenges and facing increased pressure, stress, and insecurity. These factors can lead people to start smoking, to abuse alcohol, and to resort to violence within their own families and in society, among other things.

Our trainings primarily focused on HIV/AIDS, STI/STD prevention, Self Esteem, and Stress Management. The students and teachers were a joy to work with and I look forward to returning back to the soums for future trainings.