Mongolia

Rotary International Group Study Exchange to Mongolia

Rotary International Foundation Group Study Exchange (GSE) provides selected business and professional men and woman an experience for meeting, talking, and living with Rotarians and their families in a host country in a warm spirit of friendship and hospitality. This provides the GSE Team Members an opportunity to experience the culture of the country first hand.

The purpose of the GSE Program is to learn about another country, absorb vocational and cultural opportunities, and serving as ambassadors of goodwill. GSE Teams normally consist of a Rotarian Team Leader and four Non-Rotarian business and professional people.

Lee Finholm, from the Red Wing Rotary Club, was a member of a unique GSE Team to Mongolia made up of five Rotarians; Robert Haynes, retired Freight Transportation Business from Woodbury, MN was the Team Leader; and team members were Philip LaVenture, Rigging and Construction Business from New Richmond, WI; and from Winona, MN, Diane Amundson, Management Consultant, and Don Salyards, Professor and Venture Capitalist.

Mongolia is a land-locked country in Asia surrounded on the North by Russia and on the South by China. Mongolia is nearly three times the size of France, the 18th largest country in the world and is a little larger than Alaska. Mongolia has a diverse geography and climate. The average elevation in Mongolia is 5,186 feet with the highest peak in the mountains towering to 15,273 feet. The capital city, Ulaanbaatar, is at an elevation of 4,431 feet. It is an arid country with temperature extremes similar to Minnesota with winter lows in the mid -30's F to summer highs in the low 80's F.

Mongolia is a country with limited infrastructure. It has only one major railroad running between Russia and China that gives access to Ulaan-baataar. It has very few roads, limited electrical distribution and poor communications. However, what it lacks in these things, it makes up for in its diversity in beauty.

The GSE Team traveled with the Mongolian Red Cross to an aimag (state) called Buyan-Hongor on a joint project called "Healthy Herders". On this trip the team experienced the life of the nomadic herders and life on the Gobi Dessert. It gave the team a true appreciation for the ruggedness of the country and the toughness of the people. The herder families are a friendly and gracious people that welcome all visitors. Upon arrival of visitors, the woman of the family immediately starts to prepare food and beverages for all, usually milk tea, with the treats being various other dairy products. A typical meal in the Gobi for breakfast, lunch and dinner, is boiled mutton and milk tea.

Mongolia population is approximately 2.3 million people, the lowest per square mile population density in the world. However, it makes up for it in livestock. There are over 40 million registered animals in the country including camels, horses, sheep, goats, yaks, and cattle to name the major ones.

Camels are one of the common modes of transportation in the Gobi Dessert of Mongolia along with horses and motorcycles.

Besides visiting the countryside and the people, the team visited schools, medical facilities, formal visits to the American and British Embassy, met with two Ministers of the Mongolian Parliament, Ulaanbaatar City Council and Mayor, Chamber of Commerce, cashmere factories, boys prison, museums, temples, theaters, black market, homeless children center, and numerous other professional and business people.

Last updated on 14 February, 2002