BayanZurkh Field Trips

The ger districts take up most of UB. 800,000 people live in the ger districts all together. Every civilian had the right to 700 square meters of land to themselves. But to protect it, they had to build a fence, which was hard, grueling work. The fences main purpose was to mark their territory, and for protection. If you built an outhouse, with no fence, anyone could come and use it. We came and visited a large area, named Bayan Zurkh, where we helped with both those 2 problems. We started the work on making their fence better, and digging the hole for the outhouse. For that area, there was around 10 to 15 water stations for the whole population that was living there. Most of the families had no running water, so they had to walk to the water station, fill up whatever they had, and carry it back to their house. On average, one family had to get water once a day. One liter of water cost 1 tugreg. Other supplies were available, but also cost money. Coal cost 1500, 1200 for wood, and 10,000 for electricity. Usually there is around 5 or 6 people in one ger. The ger districts are very unplanned. The land is not good to build on, it is usually not flat, so there could be landslides, and rain coming into their ger. It is very dense and has better buildings as the bottom and older parts, and quite separated and more gers at the top and younger part of the ger districts. Sukhee told us most of the information while we walked around the area, taking photos. Mr. Chilton also gave us information about some things Sukhee didn’t know.
A normal area of land where a family lives would have a fence with 2 doors. a small one for just a person, and a large on that was for cars and stuff. The small one was 1 meter, and the big on was 6. We visited the future site where the new community center would be built, which was 3 times the size of an average property. The area of the property was 21,000 square meters. The place would have classes, have physical activities, and help out the people living there.
The technology there was really poor technology. Simple ones, such as fences, stoves, etc. really simple technology. The technology there was really bad and everything started to turn bad after a few years. Ways to improve that would be for example, fences could be held up by stronger material, like metal, not old tire bits. The waste system could be improved maybe by making pipes that carry the waste so a dumping place or something like that.
Sukhee, our guide, works for a place called Flourishing Future, a community place that helps out with the peoples needs. This place gives the children there education in English and maths. It also provides sports activities, such as basketball and soccer. We visited the place and looked at the classrooms, libraries and other rooms like that.
When we went the other day to help build the fences, we split up into 2 groups. 1 to dig holes for the fences, and another to dig a toilet ditch. I was in the first group. We had to dig 3 holes for the fence doors. 2 big doors for the cars, and one small one just for walking in. We had one big metal stake, to break up the rocks and another one had to pull the rocks and dirt out of the hole. Me and Evgenii had the deepest and widest hole! We got into a tangle with a massive rock. When we went to the other job, they had already dug about a foot into the ground. There was 2 shovels and one pick axe. We took turns doing it each 2 minutes. We got about a foot into it too. Mr. Chilton, Mrs. Wilson, and Mr. Tvrdik were our supervisors.

The project was to design and make something using some sort of technology that helps the lives of the people living in ger districts. I think its very important to help the people out, because when we went and saw how they were living, I realized that they have a tough life even with the simple technologies they have. The thing I designed was a trolley to carry the water faster and efficiently. There will be 2 wheels at the back for better handling. The wheels at the back instead of the front will let the trolley have more control and steering. At the front a braking device with rubber. It will just be a metal rod sticking out with rubber at the bottom to have more grip on the surface. For the surface where the water containers will be held, a simple solid box design, and belts to keep it stable. Regular types of wheels, metal with rubber around it, just like a tire. To test it, I will push it a mile on bumpy roads to see it can carry at least 2 canisters of water. I will check it bounces around, and see it the steering is easy. Then I will draw a model, and show some teachers to ask their opinion on it. Either if it is a bad idea or if it is a good one. If bad, I ask them what I should improve on.
After the field trips, I learned a lot about the people living in the ger districts. For example, I learned that the people that live there go through life with manual labor all the time. During the second trip, I saw how difficult it was to build a fence, and dig a hole for an outhouse. I learned that people have to live off of what they have. For example, fences. I now know that I shouldn’t be dumb and buy useless things, when there are people living in terrible conditions. We should try to do help out the people living in the ger districts.

Wilson, Melanie. Intervew by Grade 9 ISU . 29/9/09. Print.