Through the Youth Development Programme, the UNFPA, the Government of Mongolia,  the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Government of Luxembourg, and Oyu Tolgoi LLC  have established 16 Youth Development Centres (YDCs)  throughout the country to provide young people with opportunities for training and coaching on life-skills;  peer counseling;  information on and services in sexual and reproductive health; and  support in education, communications and psychology; all while in a fun, safe and nurturing environment. These YDCs have since reached hundreds of youth between the ages 15-35, from different circumstances and with different challenges, often in under-served communities, and  have helped set them on the path to positive personal development, empowerment and  advocacy. The "Young Voices" series documents their experiences and shares their stories.

It all started with a Facebook post that attracted the attention of thousands of followers. Boloroo, a 26 year-old journalist and family psychologist, had something on her mind, and wanted to share it with her friends on her social media.  One night, before bed, Boloroo wrote “… A lack of family planning in Mongolia is contributing to increasing divorce rates…”. When she awoke the next morning, and logged onto her page, Boloroo was shocked to find her post had received more than 3000 likes, had been shared over 1700 times.  Awaiting in her inbox were 8000 new friend requests!

It seemed that Boloroo’s message had resonated with many members of her community. The post also captured the attention of Gobi Altai’s UNFPA/ SDC supported Youth Development Center staff who felt that Boloroo’s passion and commitment to strengthening families in the community would make her a perfect candidate for an upcoming SASA! training, so they invited her to attend.

SASA!* is a community mobilization intervention program that seeks to change community attitudes, norms and behaviors that result in gender inequality, violence and increased HIV vulnerability for women. SASA!, which means ‘now’ in Kiswahili, is also an acronym for the phases of the approach: Start, Awareness, Support, Action which structure the community efforts to reduce Gender-Based Violence.

Boloroo says the SASA! training “lit a fire inside me, and I felt I wanted to spread the messages of gender equality and empower other members of my community to recognize and  take action against Gender-based Violence”. Boloroo began to speak to her neighbors, other members of the YDC on her regular visits, as well as her new-found Facebook readership about the training.

She shared that many people were interested in hearing about gender roles and stereotypes, particularly in relation to division of labor in the household. Boloroo says she can relate from her own personal experience and feels that many women, while working equal hours as their husbands, are also expected to maintain the bulk of the domestic duties at home. She felt this was particularly true in rural areas, and noticed the gender gap even more when she moved to Gobi Altai from Ulaanbaatar, 2 years ago. Such gendered assumptions in the home can also play a role in domestic violence, something she sees a lot of in her community. “There is a real need for education and awareness about gender-based violence here, the SASA! training has provided a good opportunity to start the conversation about equality and how we can begin to change our ways of thinking and acting” .

Boloroo’s work in educating, promoting, and activating gender equality in her community demonstrates how young people are taking the lead toward achieving the Global Sustainable Development Goals in Mongolia.

Through quality education, Boloroo hopes to continue to work toward enhancing health and well-being in her community, promote gender equality, and reduce inequality which ultimately leads to a peaceful and just society where all young people are able to achieve their full potential.

* The SASA! program was initially developed by Raising Voices NGO in Uganda, and introduced, adapted for Mongolian context, and disseminated by MONFEMNET with the support of UNFPA

For more information on the SASA! Program content, please visit: http://raisingvoices.org/sasa/

By: Lizzi Logan