Almost in a Depression
For 70 years until 1930, Mongolia
had a free education and a great child welfare system. This did not just benefit
children, but it benefited women too. In 1990 though, with the withdrawal of Soviet
troops, all welfare systems crashed. About one third of children who live in Mongolia have
some sort of poverty issues. In 1998, 51% of the population did not have access
to clean water for drinking purposes.
Mongolia
used to be a thriving country with one of the most open economies in the world
for about 7 years. Some of that rapid structural adjustment really was hard for
some families and they became unemployed. Mongolia almost fell into a
depression like the U.S in the 1920's through the 1940's.
Mongolia's
streets are home to thousands of children. The children will do anything to
stay alive. They will beg and even steal. Summer is usually good for Mongolian street
kids because they can sleep anywhere. During the winter though, children will
go underground through manholes and live there. The situation is not horrible
in Mongolia
though, organizations build shelters to help the kids.
The ratio of children not being able to attend school from ages 7 to 19 is one
in every five. Some of this is because of the parent’s employment status.
If the children’s parents do not have a high employment status or high
salary then they may not be able to provide for their family.