The Yomiuri Shimbun

A fund-raising drive to raise money to send new blackboards to all of Mongolia's primary, middle and high schools is expected to reach its goal by next year, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

Due to financial difficulties, many schools in Mongolia have been unable to purchase new chalkboards, leaving them with old, deteriorating blackboards that are difficult to read.

To address the problem, Minato Ward, Osaka-based nonprofit organization Mongol Partnership Institute began raising money five years ago to donate two blackboards to each of the nation's 538 schools.

So far, the NPO has donated 622 blackboards to 291 of the schools. According to the group, it will be able to send funds covering the cost of about 300 blackboards this summer, leaving the group less than 200 chalkboards shy of its goal.

Miyoko Saito, a volunteer for the group who lives with her Mongolian husband in Ulan Bator and is involved in raising the funds, said, "We hope many people will take advantage of the fund-raising to communicate with the children of Mongolia."

The NPO was established in 2001 by Prof. Yuki Konagaya from the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, and others to increase the number of exchanges between Mongolia and Japan. It has about 270 members.

According to the group, Mongolian schools have been using the same blackboards for years, resulting in deteriorating paint and irregular surfaces that make it difficult for students to read and for teachers to write.

Mongol Partnership Institute began raising money in hopes of supporting Mongolian children, who are the country's future.

After receiving money from the group, the couple orders the blackboards from a local factory and delivers them by station wagon.

The couple sometimes has been required to drive rough roads along cliffs, but Saito said, "We feel the recipients will better understand the feelings behind the gifts if we deliver the blackboards ourselves."

Once the blackboards were installed, the children were delighted to be able to read so easily.

This year, the group raised enough money for about 300 blackboards. Fifth graders at a Kagawa Prefecture primary school were among those who donated money, which they raised by selling rice they cultivated in the school's own rice paddies.

Saito said: "Mongolians often discuss their memories. So nothing makes us happier than knowing they will cherish memories of Japanese who helped raise money [to benefit their children]."

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