Wow - two months down! The time seems to be flying at the moment, which I suppose is a good sign. I'm being kept quite busy at work, which suits me just fine (makes me feel like I'm being useful and stops me moping around). Outside of work, I've managed to make some friends, so have a good group of people to relax with. My flat's pretty sorted now, having even managed to get a toilet seat for our bathroom - luxury! So, what have I been up to the last seven days? Well, whilst this week was a bit more packed, I managed to fit in two more visits to different network member organisations.
The first trip was to DEMO, the Democracy Education Centre. DEMO does lots of interesting work, focusing on three main areas - to promote democratic ideals amongst secondary school children, to build the capacity of Mongolian non-governmental organisations, and to provide training to young people involved in politics. It was this final area that really caught my imagination- DEMO runs sessions for the youth members of all political parties, in the hope that the young people will work together across party lines, and build up long term friendships for each other. This way DEMO hopes that politics will be run with a spirit of cooperation and respect in the future. Perhaps this is something that could be replicated in the UK? asasa
On Wednesday I went to the Second Hospital, and after 10 minutes stumbled across what I was looking for - the Mongolian Blood Donors Association's headquarters. I say 'stumbled' because the headquarters are little more than a small room. After talking with the director, it became apparent that the association is in need of some assistance. They don't have a permanent office space, they only have one staff member (the director, who incidentally volunteers her time - there is no money available to pay for her salary) and don't have a computer. Despite all these problems the association does fantastic stuff! They manage to encourage people in the many different regions of Mongolia to donate their blood, which is no easy feat considering the land area that has to be covered (Mongolia is the largest landlocked country in the world). Whilst the need for blood is not always met, the work of the National Blood Donors Association has saved many lives. During the same visit I was privileged to meet some of the more experienced blood donors, who had interesting stories to tell. I felt very lucky to shake hands with Mongolia's oldest blood donor (who can be seen in the photo below, second from the right).
ghg
October the 11th was the National Day for the Blind, so I made the trip up to the Trade Union Centre to see what was going on (and to also view the assistance that some National AIDS Foundation volunteers were offering to the event). I had a great time. The main bulk of the day was focused raising awareness about blind people, and giving the general public advice on how to care for their sight. The hall was packed with stalls, many of which had blind people showcasing some of the work they do (the majority worked in the field of handicrafts or food production). However, the stall that really caught my attention was the one run by the Association of Blind Masseurs. Whilst it was a slight abuse of my work time, my host for the day insisted that I have not one, but two massages! I tell you what - the masseurs were fantastic! However, the Mongolian style of massage is very strong and forceful. At one point the masseur grabbed hold of my neck and in one swift motion pushed it to the other side of my body. CRACK! I had never heard such a sound, or thought that my body could produce it! Feeling very relaxed I then went to see a concert organised by blind performers. I was very impressed - the singers were fantastic, and the piano players also deserve a mention. All in all the day was great, one of the best I've had in Mongolia so far. Work can be tough sometimes...asasas
That's me signing off until next weekend. Hope you all have a good week ahead, take care of yourselves,
sas
Robert
No comments:
Post a Comment