Ulaanbaatar, August 30, 2016 -  Two  years ago, UNFPA Mongolia sought a way to engage the country’s growing youth  population and enlist their help in the fight against Gender-based Violence (GBV).  Thus, came the launch of the Orange  Sessions, a youth-centered event that features local musicians and young talents  who volunteer to use music to bring together young people, raise awareness for  the problem of GBV and make a commitment to help eliminate it.  As the Orange Sessions call to get involved  goes, “Music is the medium, youth  are the voices, ending violence against women and girls is the message. Listen, engage, take action!”

On August 30, 2016, UNFPA was able to see a  part of that commitment and action take shape. Apart from raising public awareness for GBV, contributing to the drive to influence policy and  decision-making, and pushing for criminalization of Domestic Violence in  Mongolian law,  artists,  friends, and supporters of the Orange Sessions have also helped raise funds for  the One-Stop service center for victims of Domestic Violence at the Sukhbaatar  District Health Alliance. Money collected from pass-the-hat donations at the  various Orange Sessions and the special Orange  Session with the Australian Chamber of Commerce was used to buy food items,  toiletries, sanitary supplies, a camera for forensic evidence that women can  borrow from the center, and a much-needed washing machine for the dignity of  women and their families who seek shelter from at-risk homes and violent  relationships, at the service center.  On  August 30,UNFPA  MongoliaRepresentative Naomi Kitahara officially  handed over these donations to the center.

The donations are timely. Reportedly in the  past six months, the center has received at least 55 different and new clients,  and all victims of GBV included, it has received a total of 100 visits (both  from one-time and repeat clients). While not specific, representatives at the  center observe that this is a marked increase from last year.  To provide adequate medical, psychological and logistical support to respond to the needs of this growing number of  clients, the center welcomes all kinds of help to augment their resources. The  washing machine, for instance, answers a need that most people might take for  granted. When fleeing their homes where they are exposed to violent situations  and people, many of the women might not be prepared and would likely need to  make use of the little clothing with which they arrived.  The machine now allows them to wash these  clothes and whatever is donated for their use, during their stay at the  shelter, helping them maintain some semblance of normalcy and dignity as they receive assistance and move towards recovery.

With this in mind, the Orange Sessions will  continue to be both a vehicle for raising public awareness of the issue but  also a source of fundraising where possible, even as the needs of the center  and survivors seem daunting.

“The UNFPA is happy to partner with young  people in Mongolia as they mobilize to make positive changes in society, “says  Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA Representative. “We are the facilitator, but the real  conduit for change is the youth. They prove time and again how their efforts,  like this, can make the difference.”

To  learn how to be part of the Orange Sessions https://www.facebook.com/theorangesessions/

To Donate to  UNFPA Mongolia GBV Projects http://unfpa-mn.org/

By: A. Esguerra