More About Distributing Helmets at Naadam

As you can probably discern from the pictures in the previous post, the distribution of helmets for the Naadam festival in the Arkhangai province was very successful! Here's a little more about how it went...

Naadam is a two-day event in Arkhangai and the day before the first set of races began my coworkers and I loaded up an SUV with all of the helmets. Then we drove around, meeting up with previously contacted horse trainers and the family members of jockeys. My coworkers led the entire process (which I couldn't do anyway with my limited Mongolian language skills) by talking to them about the importance of the helmets and how to wear them. They also collected people's contact information so we could recollect the helmets after the races concluded, to be used again next year.

The next morning we rose early to meet all everybody at the start of the race at 6:00am. My coworkers were also responsible for registering the children and their horses for the race. As children start arriving, I was delighted to see that many of them were wearing helmets!

The races continued on through that day and onto the next. Admittedly, it was still a rather small percentage of children who wore helmets. There still needs to be more education and awareness raising about this issue. However, the idea for this project stemmed from my coworkers and they are all very dedicated to the cause. In the Peace Corps we talk a lot about making our projects sustainable, and I feel very confident that my coworkers will continue their strident efforts to protect children and keep them safe through this project.

Also, one of the reasons many children were not wearing helmets is because they came from outside the provincial center and my coworkers hadn't been in touch with them. Next year we will make a better effort to reach these children who are from even more rural parts of Mongolia.

As for the continuation of this project, I need to talk with my coworkers about it some more. I would like to work on getting helmets donated for children in other provinces and continue to raise awareness about the importance of riding safely with more and more people. Each province has their own branch of the Department for Children (the organization I work with) and we could work alongside them. More information to come!