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CWWOV VISION TRIP TO MONGOLIA
October 9, 2007
Dear Friends and Family,
October 10 through 22, 2007, six women from Columbia-Willamette Women of Vision, along with one Women of Vision partner from the Puget Sound
chapter, will be traveling in Mongolia visiting the Children of the Tunnels, Lighthouses, Non-Formal Education, Mongolia Theological Education by Extension, and Mongolia Micro-Enterprise Development. Two of the
women hope to have visits with the families of exchange students they have previously hosted.
Mongolia was the first project that Columbia-Willamette Women of Vision committed to sponsor so visiting here has
special meaning to our chapter. The travelers have a large suitcase overflowing with sweaters and scarves hand knit by friends of Mongolia, craft projects for the children, and soccer balls! Thank you to
everyone who helped in the preparations for this trip. We will post reports along the way as internet access allows updates to be sent. We appreciate your prayers for each of these women and their families!
Thank you,
Bonnie
Saturday morning, October 13, 2007
Hi friends,
We arrived in Ulaanbaatar about midnight Thursday night -- with ALL OUR LUGGAGE! Hurray! After a good night's sleep in a warm, comfortable bed, we spent our first full day in Mongolia
learning about Vision Fund, World Vision's micro enterprise program here. We made an amazing connection. The young WV staff person who guided us through our day has just returned from 5
years of study in the U.S. She lived in Vancouver, WA and completed her studies at Portland State University! What a small world! She felt called to come back to Mongolia and help the people in
her country who are in great need (bringing her American husband and two small children with her). She had tears in her eyes as she told us about the success stories she has witnessed already in her
first months of work. We were touched by how deeply she cares.
The city has new buildings going up everywhere we turn. There is a segment of the population that is
prospering, but life for the poor is still very difficult. We made visits to some of the Vision Fund loan clients in the afternoon and were inspired by the hardworking women we met who have been able to
build their small businesses with the small loans they have received through Vision Fund. We asked each one how access to loans has changed their lives. EACH OF THEM told us that they now have
children in college! What a great example of transformed lives and what a great investment in the future of Mongolia. However, as we ventured down dirt roads in the poor ger neighborhoods to
reach their businesses, it was obvious that poverty here is widespread still.
We met with the World Vision staff to review our schedule for the next few days, and found we
have a great adventure ahead of us this weekend. After a morning at the "Black Market" in Ulaanbaatar, we head for the countryside to experience the nomadic life. We are going to sleep in a
ger tonight! I'm so glad I brought my headlamp! Of course our imaginations are running wild right
now since we have no idea what to expect. We were told there is electricity but no hot water. We will fill you in when we get back Sunday evening.
It's been cold but not uncomfortable. Buildings are heated toasty warm. In fact the transition from
cold to hot to cold again, keeps us busy putting on and removing layers. It's hard to get it just right.
There is a dusting of snow on the hillsides around the city but none on the ground here. The sun has been shining brightly each day so far.
Thank you for your prayers for us. We rely on them. We're praying for all of you.
Sandy
Monday, October 15, 2007
Dear Friends and Family,
It is Monday, October 15, and we have had fully packed days since we arrived in UB (Ulaanbaatar)! We have been to the countryside and back and slept in gers.
To get to the farm, we left the main road out of UB and headed cross country, bumping along, in and out of creek beds, dodging livestock of all kinds--sheep, goats, cattle and horses until we arrived at the farm.
The farm is a combination of a working farm, a summer resort for the "elderly" (we qualified!) and a foster home for children. The couple who run it are a retired professional couple who love children
and are currently providing a home for 6 orphans including a 7 month old baby. The farm has all sorts of 4 legged creatures including yaks. The school age children attend school in a near by town
during the week and stay in dormitories there, returning for the weekend. All of them have jobs on the farm.
Now to the "ger" experience---we stayed in 3 gers--each contained 3 beds, a table, stools---all brightly painted and decorated. In the center of each was a wood-burning stove which when fully
cranked up turned the ger into a sauna.
When there was not a fire during the night it was very cold---close to 0 degrees F. The night was indeed frigid, but the sky was brilliant with stars. Staying in the gers was like an experience out of the
National Geographic Traveler. We have more stories to share about ger life when we get home!
But the real story was the love we saw in how the children were cared for by the couple and the World Vision staff (social workers) who visit them. The foster care program is a part of the WV
CEDC (children in extremely difficult circumstances) program. The children range in age from 23 to 7 months. The two older boys have mental handicaps and have thrived on the farm working with the
animals and doing other jobs. Our hearts were full as we drove away Sunday afternoon and headed back to UB.
We arrived in UB, dusty and tired, in time to attend an English speaking church service. It was a joyful time spent with a cultural mix of God's people.
Needless to say, we fell into bed last night savoring our experience in the countryside.
Today we are off to visit the Lighthouses (residential centers for the street children) and will tell you about them in our next e-mail.
Love and hugs to you all!
Maggie
Tuesday morning October 16, 2007
Dear friends,
If we only had one day to spend in Mongolia, trying to understand the importance and effectiveness
of the work we support with our prayers and giving, Monday would be it (I say this before I experience the rest of the week!). We saw the power of this partnership (World Vision, God, and
us) to miraculously transform lives. I will relate the day to you, not in chronological order, but in the order that a child moves through this amazing plan.
Last night we went out on the streets with World Vision social workers and the police to round up children from tunnels and street corners. We peered with flashlights into the darkness of the tunnels
and were disgusted by the smell and the filth. We found drunken men passed out. A 16-year-old boy from the streets was helping lead the search and told us that the kids likely wouldn't descend
underground until 2 or 3 in the morning -- the night just wasn't cold enough to make them go earlier (it was below freezing however). We met a young family near one tunnel, a drunken 31-year-old
mother with two cute little girls about 2 and 4 years old. The older girl was selling gum -- remember this was almost midnight. The social workers believe they live in the tunnel we were examining.
They were invited to a day center for food and showers tomorrow. The scene was heartbreaking.
Earlier in the day we made a visit to the Child Welfare Center (formerly the Police Address
Identification Center). This is where the police take children they find on the street. We met about 35 children there who had been rounded up in the last several months. The police and WV are
searching for their parents and piecing together their stories. This is where we met the 16-yr-old boy
who helped later in the evening. He didn't feel like sharing his story with us. He did tell us his parents are dead and he would like to come to one of the WV Lighthouses. He will be transferred
there soon -- however space is tight right now. We met a 6-yr-old girl who had been there 2 days. She was found alone on the streets. She may simply be lost or could be abandoned. The children
overall here were not in good health and had the look of children who had suffered trauma.
We then had the opportunity to meet children in the WV drop in center. They were there for
showers and meals. They are going back to school, mostly through WV's informal education program.
Our visit to the WV girls' Lighthouse was so encouraging. We met 20 young girls, ages 7 to 20, who are thriving. They are all in school, many back in public school, they are happy, they are
excited about life and the future. They are loved. We felt so thrilled to be a part of a program that
can turn the hopelessness of the streets into life in all its fullness for these girls. We learned that 80%
of children in the Lighthouses are full or partial orphans. 15% of them have parents in prison. 100% of them have been abused in some manner. Without WV's loving and nurturing care, they would
never have discovered the life God wanted them to live.
Then we had the amazing delight of enjoying a performance by the Children of the Blue Sky Choir.
This choir, just formed last summer, is made up completely of children from CEDC kids (children at risk in the WV program). They sang and danced and played horsehead fiddles. It was lovely.
Some of you who know Shagai can imagine how I loved seeing her. She is in her second year of college, studying dance, and she is lovely and talented. Her English is improving. She is 18 now and
still lives in the Lighthouse.
The day was a wonderful picture of the holistic, Christ centered, child focused work going on here.
What a privilege it was for us to greet these children on behalf of all of you.
If all of that wasn't enough, we also visited the Kathie Williams room at the hospital. We entered to
see children who were awaiting surgery playing with very fun toys in a child-friendly room as if they were having a day at the park. The staff warmly thanked Kathie's family and friends for providing
this special place that has now erased the fear associated with surgery. In fact most children come out of surgery asking if they can go come back to this room. We were astounded to learn that
nearly 6,000 children each year enjoy the room. Kathie's beautiful face is smiling on all who enter. We shed some tears remembering our dear friend. She would be very happy for this place that has
been dedicated in her memory.
We are off for another day of learning and exploring. We again thank you for all your prayers.
Sandy
Thursday morning, October 18
Dear Family and Friends,
It is difficult to believe we have seen and done so much in the short time we have been here! Each
day has been filled to the brim and Tuesday and Wednesday were no exception. We continue to be inspired by the commitment of the World Vision staff to the children of Mongolia.
On Tuesday we spent the day visiting three different informal education programs. The first was a
classroom located in a government school where children from the Lighthouses and others who had dropped out of school receive lessons in everything from literature to chemistry. There were 20
students from age 14 to 18 in this classroom and the goal is to get as many of them as possible back into the regular school system. We were very touched by these students and their desire to be
successful as we know they have experienced difficult challenges in their short lives.
Our next stop was a Day Activity Center where children come to either to a morning or afternoon
program where they receive tutoring, read books, play games, do crafts. Most of these children attend regular schools and some were from the Lighthouses. This center provides a safe and
stimulating environment for the children with many books and materials available along with a wonderful teacher. The children loved doing the "picture and frame" craft activity with us which gave
us a wonderful way to connect with each one of them.
The other center we visited was the Child and Family Information Center and it differed from the
others in that it was open to parents and teachers as well as children. Children come in after school for to do homework, receive tutoring, read, do craft activities, etc. It had a large library and also a
computer room. There are also classes for students and parents in the evening.
As I am running out of time I will quickly summarize our Wednesday activities! Our team presented
at WV chapel in the morning. Sandy shared a wonderful devotional. We also spent a very informative and thought-provoking hour with Alex Snary, the Mongolia Country Director. Later we
visited a kindergarten for mentally disabled children and a shelter for teenagers escaping from domestic violence. Both are a part of the CEDC (Children in Especially Difficult Circumstances) program.
We have so much more to share with you when we return home! We are still processing all we have
experienced and putting the pieces together. But we are very encouraged by the work that is being done by WV in Mongolia.
Thank you so much for your prayer support----we can feel it and appreciate it so much. And please continue to pray for the children and those who serve them in this vast country.
Maggie
Friday morning October 19, 2007
Dear Friends,
We had the opportunity to visit the boys' Lighthouse yesterday and had a delightful time. Boys are
boys around the world. We talked and laughed with them for over an hour. (I know some of you are wondering how we became fluent in Mongolian so quickly. I must confess we had good
interpreters!) The boys shared their day to day lives with us and their hopes and dreams for the future. Many of them are preparing for a model airplane competition in Russia soon. Many of them
are singing in the Children of the Blue Sky Choir. Some are learning to play the horsehead violin. Some want to be engineers, teachers, doctors, electricians, construction workers. They are bright
-eyed and healthy and caring of each other.
They asked us what we liked best about Mongolia. I would have to say the World Vision
Lighthouses are my favorite spots in the entire country. There we see so well the transformation of children's lives -- such a contrast from the children they were before -- abused and on the streets
and in the tunnels.
I hope you all will share in our joy as part of this great work.
Blessings to you all,
Sandy
Sunday, October 21 in Seoul
Dear Friends,
We boarded our flight last night at 12:20 a.m. (Sunday morning actually) after a very full day. We
traveled to the countryside with Alex Snary, World Vision Mongolia Country Director, and his wife and children, and with Don Lord, Children at Risk Director, and his wife. This gave us a great
opportunity to ask final questions and fill in missing information, while also celebrating the end of an amazing week in Mongolia.
We first traveled out into the countryside to the area where Chenghis Khan was born. (I know we all call him Genghis in the US, but the staff corrects us every time we say that. Mongolians call him
Chenghis.) Friends of Mongolia have erected a 40 meter tall steel statue of Chenghis on a horse!
The size and sheen almost blinded us as we drove up! Think Statue of Liberty and that is the effect. Quiet amazing. I saw just 15 to 20 gers on the hills surrounding the site and wondered what those
nomadic herders thought as they saw this monument go up in their pastoral setting! Just a short distance away is a movie set of the Great Wall of China! We had a tailgate tea party in the shadow
of the great wall with Chenghis in the background. It's hard to express the wonder of it all!
Then we drove on to Terelj National Park where Maggie's dream came true -- she rode a camel.
Not once but twice. The rest of us took one spin around the short circuit. It's such a "Mongolian"
thing to do. We couldn't resist. Later in the afternoon, half our group rode horses while the others
took a driving tour. I joined the horseback riding group. We forded a shallow, but swift river and rode through the autumn forest. It was a great way to wrap up our week in Mongolia. Cherri's
horse was quite independent. We all laughed as we headed out and her horse insisted on walking on the new sidewalk in front of the new five-star hotel going up. There was nothing she could do to
make him come down until the sidewalk ended! My horse kept nipping at her horse, as did Linda's. There was an interesting dynamic going on!
We are now in Seoul and I'll be home later in the day Sunday, and the others will be home Monday.
We are all full of hope for the future of Mongolia's children, but there's some hard work ahead. Over and over, the trip confirmed that our commitment here is money and time and energy well
focused. We are very proud of the CEDC staff. Their program is a model for the entire World Vision Mongolia program. This year that model will begin to be integrated into the 33 ADP's across
the country. It's going to be a challenge for the CEDC staff. It means change and hours and hours
of planning and much more travel. At the same time they will continue to operate their programs and function as the pilot program for the country, testing and innovating new ideas.
We will be planning a trip report soon. Watch for that announcement so you can put it on your calendars. We look forward to seeing you all soon!
Sandy
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