American by birth, Mongolian at heart

Tim Jenkins is from Pittsfield, Illinois and was a partnership and communications specialist at UN Mongolia and UNFPA. He is a gender equality and LGBT activist and believes that all humans should be treated with dignity and respect regardless of age, sex, race, and sexual orientation. He has spent on and off six years in Mongolia.

For three years, he has been working in Arkhangai Province as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Throughout these six years, how has Mongolia changed?

When I arrived in Mongolia and was working in Arkhangai. My health department in 2010 did not have internet until September of 2010, which was a month after I arrived. When I went back recently, there was WiFi everywhere and there was a paved road which wasn’t there when I first arrived. Then also, in terms of development of physical structures, just to go to Zaisan and look over the city and see how different it is from 2010 to today, it is so stark.

To be able to get on the road and drive to Khuvsgul and have it paved all the way, it has been incredible. In terms of development in more of a social sense, having discussions on gender equality, it was happening and a lot of my friends were actually leading these movements, and today, laws are being passed. HeForShe was recently launched and I couldn’t imagine doing that years ago when I first arrived in the country. How open minded the people from the city to the countryside is, it has become even more so.

What made you want to come to Mongolia in the first place?

My honest answer is that I didn't want to come to Mongolia. When I applied to Peace Corps, I was actually asked to go to Fiji. However, I was coaching a track team at the time and their season didn't end until after my departure date. A little bit of sidebar is that Peace Corps doesn’t really take light to turning down offers. So I called and explained to them that I had this prior commitment to this athletics team and I need to see this through, that I would really like the opportunity to be posted somewhere else and that I wanted to do Fiji but I just can't because of this commitment that I have. If there is no other option, I told them that I am going to have to turn Peace Corps down because it’s not nice to the kids.

Anyway they said they respect commitment and that they had another location in mind for me. They said they will keep me updated, but they are thinking somewhere in Central Asia. In my head as soon as they said that, I was thinking, “I hope it’s not Mongolia,” because I had a friend who was serving in the Peace Corps Mongolia and she was living in a ger in the countryside and she had put up a few blogs and photos on social media.

I was thinking, “Oh my god. That looks so hard. Living in a ger? In the countryside? With no internet? No TV? None of the luxuries of the modern life in the US? I don't know if I can do that.” I was also hesitating because of how sparsely populated the country is, and my friend talked about having a 10hour bus ride. I haven't even been on a 10-hour flight.

I got my invitation and my friend asked me to come over to Mongolia and she has been very supportive of my Peace Corps application. When I opened it in front of her she was excited that I was going to Mongolia and meet Kaitlyn. In the back of my mind, I was like, “No way.” This is going to be really hard. My grandmother who was the most liberal person I ever met, she went to the library and picked up some books on Mongolia and its history.

I’ve always been a history buff and before I even left, I fell in love with Mongolian history and its culture.

America has a couple hundred years of history. It is much longer in terms of Native American history, but going to a country that has thousands of years of recorded history of conquering vast lands really enticed me. I was really excited, but I didn't have a lot of time to really research Mongolia. I only had read the history books of Mongolia. Coming from a small town in America, our public library books weren't always up to date and my books were from the 90s.

How I packed and what I packed was not really representative of what Mongolian life was like. So I really thought that I would be living in a ger in Khovd with limited electricity, but then I ended up in Arkhangai with a bakery, internet access at work and eventually there was a paved road in the province. It was a pretty easy life, not much different from the US.

What are the best and worst parts about living in Mongolia?

The best part is definitely the people. The reason I’ve been successful at my work is not necessarily any specific skill that I have, but it’s been my friends that are here that support what I do. I know that I can call them up any given moment and they’d drop everything right away and help out.

Mongolian people are very open, accepting of foreigners and different ideas because it is a very progressive society. Are there challenges? Yeah sure, absolutely. Are there things that need to be changed? Of course, but I have a lot of faith in Mongolia and the best part has been getting to know all of you.

Whether it is young people working in NGOs and movements to my akh (older brothers) and egch (older sisters) in the countryside who helped me out whenever I needed it. They were a shoulder to cry on when I was sad. I am getting emotional talking about it because this is my home now.

My best friends are here, my life is here and I love the people of Mongolia.

The worst part is seeing the people struggle. Whether that's been because of things like air pollution or families not knowing whether they will stay or leave. Those things have been difficult for me.

On the minor side, probably the hardest challenge was when I was taking a taxi to the countryside and the car broke down when we were eight hours outside of anywhere. We had to wait in the middle of winter in February. That was probably the hardest thing in terms of emotionally and physically. I was thinking, “Will I survive?” I have a lot of hope for Mongolia’s future and development.

I wouldn't have been here if otherwise. It will be a society that treats everybody with dignity and respect, and everyone will have an opportunity. It does hurt to see friends, acquaintances and people that haven't been given the same opportunities that you and I have.

Those are my hardest days when I really see it and it makes me want to do more. I do try my best to do more whether it is volunteering my own time, through work or activism.

What are you planning to do next once you leave Mongolia?

Leaving is really a temporary term for me because I will be back. I see myself settling here and living here in the long term. Next, I will be moving to Cambodia for work at the United Nations there. I will always be back.

You initiated and worked on projects such as Orange Sessions and helped bring HeForShe to Mongolia. What are your thoughts on issues regarding gender equality?

When it comes to gender, I still have long ways to go. I am still learning and I am still figuring it out. I want men all over the world to take the same approach. It is okay to ask questions. It’s okay to be wrong, it's okay to be who you are and it’s okay to let women lead.

We need more men in Mongolia and across the world to really step up and lift women up or in some cases step aside and let women lead. It's only going to bring more prosperity. It is only going to benefit society. Whether that be leading, or creating or supporting, it will lead to more jobs and innovation. Working with women side by side and us moving together as a society as men and women will only bring positive results to the world.

Were you always an LGBT or a gender equality activist and if not then how did you become one?

I think I always had somewhat of an open mind. I’ve surrounded myself with people that will critique me when I’m wrong and I still encourage that. I am not from the LGBT community, I

am not a woman. I will not necessarily always understand the challenges that these people face, but I can listen and I can learn.

I appreciate all of my friends who are supportive, have guided me and called me out when I am wrong. I think there is nothing wrong with being wrong, but refusing to accept when you are wrong and to learn from it, that’s where I take issue. I am okay being wrong because it is a learning experience. I take issue with people that refuse to change and refuse to be wrong ever.

What are one of the last things that you worked on while in Mongolia?

The last thing that I worked on was the Coalition for Equality. It was established by my friends and I, and it is a group of organizations and people coming together to promote the rights of the LGBT community. I wish so much that I can stay, continue to move forward and bring people together, but I am really confident in my friends at the LGBT center, private sectors and the media that they’ll move it forwards.

It is something that I am very proud to work with because similar to my beliefs on bringing women to the table. I have no interest in being a leader, but I have every interest in bringing leaders to the table and making sure that their voices are heard. I would much rather be led by them than for me to do the leading.

What is it like for you as an expat to have a Mongolian wife, child and in-laws?

I love my Mongolian family. I find it fun sometimes the cultural differences that we have. What's nice about having a Mongolian family is not only because they’re fun to be around and we have these cultural differences that bring unique discussions to the table.

It also means that I am forever tied to this country and I love that. I want my kids to feel that this is their home as much as anywhere else, but maybe even more so. I really want them to identify as Mongolian. It's going to be hard to do because we won't necessarily live here all the time, but it is important to be a part of Mongolian communities abroad, visit often, eventually start living here again.

At this point, would you consider yourself Mongolian at heart?

When I am abroad, I introduce myself as American by birth and Mongolian at heart because there is something majestic about this place, about the land, about the people and about the history. If there were jobs in the countryside for people like me, I could live there all my life and I would be content.

...We need more men in Mongolia and across the world to really step up and lift women up or in some cases step aside and let women lead.

It’s only going to bring more prosperity. It is only going to benefit society...