Within the framework of the Small Scale Fund, in which local chapter
leaders are given opportunities to design and implement activities for
advocacy or to strengthen their organization, the Mongolia National Federation of the Blind branch in
Darhan-Uul province produced and aired a special TV program series, 30
minutes each, highlighting the problems of more than 400 blind people
in the province, with the aim of raising awareness of decision makers.
3 programs have so far been aired, several times each:
Program 1 “White Night”: MNFB invited blind individuals as guests to
talked about the problems that blind people encounter.
Program 2: “Rights and responsibilities”: The program invited relevant
stakeholders including chairman of local Welfare Agency, an eye
doctor, doctor of the disability grading and certification, an officer
of the city hall and representatives of blind people to discuss about
the key issues and reach consensus.
Program 3: “Give us chance or we can also do”: The program
demonstrated to the community that blind people, although they are blind, have commitment and talent that showcased the best practices to other people with disabilities and the entire community.
The branch experienced difficulties in producing programs in the beginning: First they tried to invite parents of blind children but none of them showed up. When preparing the second program, some official did not show up because of election and other reasons. But by
the time they worked on the third program, they succeeded in gaining understanding in the community so the production went smoother.
The first TV program featured a totally blind man Bold who lives with his wife and 6 children ages between 1 and 19, in a lent nomadic tent. His wife is unemployed. After the TV program, an entity located near where they live, found the family and recruited his wife as a cleaner, and the chairman of provincial Labor and Welfare Service Agency met
Bold and promised to provide some financial assistance from the welfare fund to buy their own tent if he submits complete applications.
The TV programs have been effective in awareness raising, as they gained more understanding in the community, received calls after the broadcast, and even invited positive changes to the potential supporters. At the same time, the branch members have been gaining many valuable experiences in how to work with a variety of people, how
to approach potential speakers, etc. Currently, the MNFB branch is working on the fourth TV program, which will be the last under the project.