I was born in Bulgan soum, Khovd aimag, in 1996. My parents were killed in a car accident when I was two. My grandparents took me in, but they died when I was seven. I went to live with my paternal uncle until 4th grade and with my mother’s relatives until the 6th grade. I then moved to Ulaanbaatar, where another uncle took me in until the 11th grade. After graduating from School #60 in Khan-Uul district, I returned to Khovd and enrolled in a one-year plastering course at the Polytechnic College, where I lived on campus.
My childhood was lost amid all the grief and disruptions. But when I arrived at college I saw that the future was in my own hands, and I tried to encourage others to feel the same way. Unlike a lot of the students, I took advantage of every possible opportunity to learn so that I could get a good job.
Everything I did, I did wholeheartedly. I was the most successful girl in the college’s 2015 sports competition, winning four gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 800m races and in the long jump. But our teacher said, “It's inappropriate for the same student to be in so many competitions", so another student competed in the 400m race, and didn’t win. My classmates said, “If you had run, we could have won five gold medals". That remark consoled me because I know other people saw my potential.
My big chance came when I applied for an internship with the Energy Efficiency Project as a façade plasterer, thermo-retrofitting School #2 in Jargalant soum. Part of the project was to provide on-the-job experience for young artisans like myself so we would continue with the work when the project finished. We discovered that retrofitting can make buildings warmer, but only if it’s done to proper standards, which we learned from the project’s consultant engineer. The internship enabled me to build on the skills I had learned in college and put them into practice on a building that was the centre of attention in the aimag.
I graduated from college in June 2016, not long after finishing my internship. I was one of five of the seven former interns hired by a local construction company for two-and-a-half months to retrofit a hospital, also co-funded by the project. Another contractor asked my employer to sub-contract our team to do the external plastering of a 164m2 building in Darvi soum. The quality of our work was becoming well-known! Despite not having a supervising engineer, we did a good job and finished the work early and under budget. The company director made a point of thanking us personally.
We’re now completing another 1400m2 of façade plastering. Our team shares the knowledge we gained from college and the internship with other workers. My group was recently invited to take part in a ceremony involving Mongolian housebuilders. I was very proud to be part of it.
I also now feel financially independent. I used to have to borrow money for bus fares. Now I can lend money to other people! I have a bank account and money saved that I will use to further my education, as I have dreamed since childhood of becoming an army communications officer.
I had a very difficult start in life, but I’ve been determined to improve my life. I’ve made the most of the chances I’ve had. I will always look back on the project internship as one of the best opportunities I was ever given. Look where I am now - a respected young artisan with money in the bank.
