Artists, friends, and supporters of the Orange Sessions raise funds for the One-Stop service center for victims of Domestic Violence at the Sukhbaatar District Health Alliance.
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
