Visions of Mongolia

Every spring, massive sandstorms from Mongolia’s Gobi Desert pollute the air in Korea, China, and other Asian countries.

In 2005, Korean Rotary districts established Keep Mongolia Green, a Matching Grant collaboration with several Rotary clubs in Mongolia, where Rotary has been a presence since 1996.

Since then, hundreds of Rotarians and local volunteers have planted more than 200,000 trees and shrubs at demonstration sites in four areas of Mongolia (including the Gobi), proving that even this arid land can become green, and that a program of mass planting could, over time, delay or even reverse the desertification of Mongolia and cut down on the annual sandstorms.

In July 2008, Rotary’s Broadcast Media Department sent a team to document the Rotarians’ unprecedented effort. Their report on Keep Mongolia Green will be featured in Volume 4, Issue 3 of RVM: The Rotarian Video Magazine.

• Purchase Volume 4, Issue 3 of RVM.
• Mongolian children receive heart surgery in Korea.