The ger district Criterian A

We the 9th grade class has been working on a project on how to help the Ger district. The problems were that the people who live in the Ger district had problems with money, which is poverty. Either they don’t have a job or they don’t have enough money to support the whole family. The project is that we have to be designing/ talking about a specific thing we want to improve and enhance in the Ger district. Also something that we want to change in the Ger districts technology. I had chosen to build and modify the fence. The fence is an important role in the Ger district. The fence right now that they use in the Ger districts has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages would be that it allows the owner to claim its land and also it keeps out the unwelcomed visitors and it reduces theft. The disadvantages would be that it is not very stable and not strong enough. If it is made out of metal and wood that some people are already using then its fine, but some people just make it out of trash. They just patch things all up. The fence is the thing that allows things to be private. Without the fence you would have not such thing as private or private property. So the problem here is that the fences are not strong and is not long lasting. By solving or helping to solve the problem the Ger districts lives would be much better. If the problem of poverty and the fence and all sorts of things are solved then it would change the lives of the people who live in the Ger districts greatly. First it would keep them safe and also allow the whole family to eat plentifully. Also make their lives of carrying the water back and forth much easier and more comfortable.
The people who gave us information were Mrs. Wilson who showed us the power point and helped us build the fence and gave us information during the field trip. The second person was Mr. Chilton who showed us another power point and gave us more necessary information. The third person was Mr. Tvdrik who helped us build the fence and dig the toilet. He also explained the community center that was going to be built soon. Also he gave us more information on fences and other families. The last person was Sukhee. He was the guide for us the entire trip. He gave us a whole lot of information. He had talked about the water system and the community and center. He also talked about the 35 families that were getting help from the center and the Rinky Dink travel. Also he talked about the mud slides and the margins and the cost of the wood, coal, electricity and etc…
As mentioned earlier I wanted to modify the fence. I want to make it out of wood that is tall enough to cover the Ger and to protect what’s inside. Also I want to make a fence that has no holes or gaps in the middle. Also to have a strong and stable fence, so that it won’t break. I want it to have two doors. One of the entrance for the car and the other for the people. The test would be that there is going to be two different kinds of fences next to each other and there is going to be 2 people for each fence. One of the fence is going to be the one that I just talked about and the other one is going to be the on they use right now. The 2 people will live inside the fence for a week or two. Then after the 4 people are going to switch the fences and live in it for another weed or two. Then lastly at the end I am going to ask which one was a better fence why or why not and how was it more comfortable. Did you feel safer in the 1st fence or the 2nd fence?
From the field trip I saw a lot of fences and gates with a lot of patched up materials and it was a good idea but it wasn’t as good as it would be if it was made out of wood and metal. The Ger district we visited was called “Bayanzurkh” and it was a fair living. People had money to buy water and buy wood and coal to burn.
This project that we are working on is based on the Ger district in Mongolia. It’s a small Ger district/ town with a population of 7500. The people who live here live fairly well. They have enough money to buy their own food and water. Also enough money to buy coal and wood to lit up their stove during the winter times.
Mongolia’s winter in my opinion is the worst of the worst. It is completely freezing cold if you’re outside and it is completely white. The hill, building and houses are all covered with bits of snow. The country-side is even far whiter, if there’s such word. Since the country-side is a flat land the snow covers every single bit. The brown grass is covered with snow and the roads are too. If you look west, east, south there is no difference all you would see is white and all you feel is the cold air and your half sunken feet.
The country-side snows and it is stacks up high enough to cover the half of an adults feet. Even though you wear clothes you would still feel cold and your hands and cheeks would be red and cold. No matter how much you burn during the winter inside the Ger, you still would feel the cold wind and the wind blowing from the outside. During the winter time the coal and the wood would be used more which then the money spent on the wood and coal would double up or even triple up. No matter how much or how well you cover the Ger with layers and layers of sheets the wind will basically come through the sheets or the tiny holes between them.
Since because of the cold freezing winter there are more people who are likely to freeze outside rather than dying of hunger. Without a fence random people who are freezing is likely to just come into the Ger while no one’s there and also may use the outhouse. The fence in my opinion is the most important part. First without a fence there is no protection and the percentage of stealing and getting things gone is incredibly higher than with a fence. The fence is what protects what’s inside it and protects who’s inside it as well. Also it shows the persons territory and also allows the person to claim the land. In basic and in simple words a fence is what protects the things inside and also makes things private. Without a fence it makes things public and with a fence it keeps things private. Privacy seems to be big in this class and also too many people out there so if you actually want privacy then you need fences.
We are doing this project to actually come up with an idea to help the lives of Bayanzurkh better. Although it’s just an idea and a thought it may help and it may play a really big part in their lives. Also, a fence is important in order to keep the wild animals away. Especially if you’re in the country-side it is really helpful and useful to have a fence in order to keep the wild animals away. The winter times as mentioned in my opinion are the most dangerous because if the animals are hungry they will come down and if you don’t have a fence it will be dangerous. A fence may save a persons life and keep things safe and private. Also without a fence you cannot claim land as it was several times mentioned. Without a fence in the Mongolian law you cannot say your land is your land.
From this unit I have learned a lot. Although I have lived here all my life I have never really took part in any ger district activities and didn’t even think about them. Now, through the field trip I have learned a lot and I’m proud and it seems to be really useful. I can prove that I have learned a lot by the speed and amount of things I am writing and the amount of things I want to write MORE. The field trip has really made me think twice about money and how I should conserve and re-use things. People are like this as someone said “You don’t know how precious something is unless it leaves you and you don’t know how valuable something is unless it disappears.” This saying is strong and important and people should always remember it. Although some people are not happy or satisfied by their life but if you think about the life of a person in the Ger district you may want to think twice and think about how well you live and about how satisfied you have to be.
There were several technologies I saw, things like fences with patched up metals, clothes and tires. I also saw stairs that was made out of tires for recycling. These seemed really interesting to me because I would have never thought of doing things like that. The conditions of these fences were not so good but they were still helpful. They may not be the best fence but it still did cover all the spots and they didn’t even have to pay for them. For them it’s an advantage because then they don’t have to spend their money and instead they can use it for something else. The fences and the gates and the Gers could have been better designed but they were still in good shape and were still useful. The outhouse is another kind of technology it is a simple toilet that is located outside. It is a simple basic toilet that is about 2 meters deep and some wood on the top and it was all that. The toilet is really stinky and it smells because there is no such thing as a flush. There is nothing special it is just a hole and nothing else. If I was to make this better first I would just change it into a really good and non stinky bathroom. Also I would somehow make it cleaner and make it something that a person from the city can use.
The second field trip to the half way done community center was also interesting. It wasn’t that much. There weren’t a lot of things. I saw several Gers and fences. I saw a ton of graves. It was kind of creepy because imagining living there was a bit creepy. We didn’t really have enough time to look around but I got a basic idea of that area. Although we didn’t do much except to look at the community center I knew that one day this area was also going to grow fairly quickly.
Overall the field trip was really nice and the people were really friendly too. I really enjoyed this field trip. Personally I think it was great. Although it was hard and cold I learned a lot and I did something to help them which made my life in Mongolia more special.

Citations:

“Flourishing Future Powerpoint”. I.T class. Flourishing Futures. October 4th-5 2009
Ms. Wilson, Melanie. Personal interview by grade nine. 30th of September 2009.
Mr. Chilton, Dave. Personal interview by grade nine. 30th of September 2009.
Mr. Tvrdik, Troy. Personal interview by grade nine. 7th – 8th of October 2009.
Sukhee,. Personal interview by grade nine. 7th – 8th of October 2009.