Local Solutions in Mongolia
Local Solutions is an NGO based in Mongolia and a close partner of Hesperian.
All donations will go to helping Local Solutions with the following projects:
Changing Toilets, Changing Lives
Half of Ulaanbaatar’s 1.7 million residents live in ger (yurt) districts off the sewage-pipe grid. Local Solutions and Hesperian are securing funding to help them change their outhouses into alternative toilets that will cause less pollution and increase safety.
Bacteria and contamination from current outhouse toilets spreads through groundwater to nearby wells, causing diarrhea — the number one killer of children under five in Mongolia. Many small children fall and die in dangerous outhouses as well. Despite these dangers, until recently it was taboo to talk about toilets even among family members. But Mongolian attitudes are changing — people are now enthusiastically discussing the need for improvement. Thanks to the movement Let’s Change Our Toilets, led by Local Solutions, Mongolians are able to live safer and healthier.
Improving Soil, Improving Quality of Life
In the course of changing toilets, basic science and agronomy classes teach people to manage their bio waste, including dry toilet waste. These classes help improve eroded soil. In Mongolia, due to its 365-day wind, soil erosion is a constant issue and planting trees and having grassland around one’s home is a luxury. However, thanks to Local Solutions’ holistic approach to the toilet changing process, Ulaanbaatar’s off-grid Ger Area is on its way to becoming a green area in the city. Soil improvement education is spreading all over the country along with the toilet changing process.
Your donation will help distribute online and offline educational materials, pay for trainers and mentors for those who need to change their toilets, and help local toilet maker SMEs grow.
To donate by check:
Please make checks payable to Hesperian Health Guides with “Local Solutions” in the memo section and mail to:
Hesperian Health Guides
2860 TELEGRAPH AVE
OAKLAND, CA 94609