USAID GER Initiative Helps Family Find Jobs

Suren worked with the USAID-funded GER Initiative to find jobs for family members. Now she is working with GER Initiative busine
Suren worked with the USAID-funded GER Initiative to find jobs for family members. Now she is working with GER Initiative business advisors to start a family business of her own.
Khorolsuren Dalantai/GER Initiative
Former Herder Migrates to Mongolia’s Capital in Hopes of a Better Future
"The GER Initiative employees don’t stop their job after the employment matching. They also worry if the salary is paid on time and about difficulties on the job. They work closely with people like us. If you are willing to have a job, you should come to this place." - Suren, a former herder

This article describes some of the activities of USAID's Growing Entrepreneurship Rapidly (GER) project, implemented by Global Communities (previously known as CHF International) during 2002-2009.

“We moved to the city to find jobs and be closer to opportunities,” said Suren, one of thousands of Mongolians who in recent years have made the difficult transition from the countryside to life in Mongolia’s capital city - Ulaanbaatar. Several successive harsh winters have accelerated the pace of migration from rural Mongolia to the capital city.

On arrival, many new migrants find that they do not have the skills or knowledge needed to make a living in an urban environment. Suren herself discovered that she was considered too “old” for salaried employment. However, her daughter found work in a “sweatshop” to provide an income. One day, Suren found a flyer near a bus stop advertising the USAID-funded GER Initiative designed to provide business services to new migrants from the countryside, such as herself. After talking with GER Initiative advisors, her daughter was hired by a new sewing factory with much better working conditions.

“Since we connected with the GER Initiative, three members of my family now have jobs,” Suren said. “I am very happy that our life is getting better.”