Ruthy in Mongolia
7th Jul 2009June... I think that June, 2008 can be accurately documented as the month my blood pressure went through the roof and I became one of those hordes of people that are stress heads. The ones I used to look at sympathetically or try to couch through situations so they could chill out a bit. Well it seems those times have gone BUT I am keen for them to return so I guess I'll just have to keep you updated there.... June kicked off with the VSO Mongolia conference at the summer camp venue but I've over eagerly covered that already in my previous blog! Starting the month with something as awesome but also as full on as the conference seems to have set the scene for not just June but my summer. In the week after the summer the eight UK volunteers from the Edinburgh University associated organisation Edinburgh Global Partnership (EGP) arrived. The volunteers come to Mongolia to volunteer at the organisation I volunteer at as part of a three year project. The project brought eight volunteers here in 2007 and their task was a lot more construction than subsequent years. This first years group were largely responsible for assisting with building two dormitory buildings that at full capacity can hold 60 people altogether. Plus a kitchen/ dining hall and a dance square. Following this initial intensive build the groups in 2008 and in 2009 have been able to focus more on running activities with the children than construction. It is only my opinion but I think that the volunteers prefer being involved in the camp activities rather than construction. Again, it is only my opinion but I think that this is what gives the partnership with Mongolia the edge over some of the other partnerships they have elsewhere in the world where all the groups do is build. The volunteers that go to our summer camp for vulnerable children get to contribute to how the weeks sessions are planned, they develop activities and dances and most importantly (I think) they get to see exactly, directly where there hard earned fundraising goes. They see the kids eyes brighten to a sparkle and they see how in just a week with support and care the children can flourish. The day that the volunteers arrived was the Filipino Independence day celebration. If I remember correctly they said that there is between fifty and sixty Filipino's in Mongolia at any one time. The Philippines Independence day is to celebrate the freedom from Spanish colonial rule. The celebration was held at the renowned star apartments in Ulaanbaatar. Star apartments are a walled off, guarded complex that resemble Wisteria lane (the street from Desperate housewives) with its perfectly decorated buildings and impeccably kept gardens. Consulate types, bankers and people involved with mining are the people I expect live in star apartments. It was an interesting moment when I realised I was in this apartment complex that resemble the American dream whilst watching a Filipino Independence day celebration in... Mongolia! What a global world we live in. So I took the volunteers along and I think they felt a lot like I did, it was a little surreal. The celebration itself was amazing though: traditional songs were sang, traditional dances were performed, we ate delicious Filipino food and finished the night bopping to Abba! For a week we did some introductory training about Mongolia, the children's situations in Mongolia, our organisation and its projects as well as assisting in practical things such changing money, getting phone cards and seeing some sights. A couple of days before the camp started and fifty eight children would descend on camp my mum arrived to volunteer and assist with an art project I'd been able to get funding for. We took all the volunteers out to the countryside where there is a giant silver statue of Chinggis (Genghis) Khan. You can take an elevator up the inside of the statue and emerge outside onto a balcony from his crutch! The statue is part of a huge scheme where the statue will stand central on a mound to a surrounding hundreds of ger (yurt) camps. So far there is a handful of gers and the statue which has a restaurant inside it. The following day on 22nd June our camp started and without too many hitches. The art project is mainly split into four important sections: 1.To run small art activities with the children where they create something they can return home with. Previously, our project children were so keen to retain something of their time at the camp they would steal small things. We see it all the time when kids come home from school with a painting they'd done that day and how proud they are. I wanted to give these children an opportunity to return from the camp with that same feeling. 2.Organise one big art project that all the children that attend the camp would contribute to. After consideration for Mongolia's climate and other practical issues we decided that it would be a mosaic and that we'd aspire to use recyclable materials. It was important that the children would be central to developing the concept, the theme of the mosaic. They decided that the theme would be 'our world'. The mosaic should be symbolic of all the children working together to illustrate how they feel about their world. 3.Following the end of the camp and to try and time it with the arrival of the Mongol Rally teams ( http://mongolrally.theadventurists.com/index.php ) we plan to hold an exhibition to celebrate and educate people about the children, our organisation and their efforts in the is project. We will unveil the (hopefully) finished and looking beautiful mosaic which should stand two metres high and four metres long. We will also display the preparatory work and how the theme 'our world' was arrived at. We will also offer some art work for sale to generate income for the children but also for future art projects. 4.The final stage of this project is to develop a resource or handbook that will be distributed to other organisations supporting children. The book will outline how our organisation has been using art to engage young people, the positives in this and also some of the challenges. Using art to engage young people is at its very early stages in Mongolia and our organisation hope to encourage other organisations to use it as a tool through this resource. There were some issues at the start of the project but we always knew that the first week would be challenging until people settle into the routine and familiarise themselves with how the activities are organised and the children. Despite still being HUGELY stressed about the time constraints we're working to and the pressure of finishing the project to a good standard things don't appear to be massively behind. Importantly the feedback is saying that the children are loving the art activities and getting stacks out of it. So, I guess, even if all else fails, we achieved a lot for the children. I think this project could be a sharp learning curve for me. So even though it might not work out like it was planned and might not achieve the original objectives I suppose for my personal learning it's been a challenge and I'm sure I've benefited. I'll have to keep you updated on how this works out. Things are looking more certain that I'll return in September and I think that, in true Mongolian style, after nadam (the Mongolian summer celebration: horse racing, wrestling, archery, 9th till 13th July) I'll really knuckle down in preparation and finishing things off.
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