This past week was a great one. I have been busy at the ger district community centre preparing our Mongolian/English library, programing computers in preparation for my Mongolian/English computer class & helped with a team of college students from Holland with their ger district tour. The centre offers ger district tours for teams that come to let them experience what life is like for the typical Mongolian family living in the ger district.
I also started helping out with our centres monthly food distribution. Each month the centre prepares food, milk, and vitamins to give to poorer local families living in the ger district. The usual process is a family member comes to the centre where there is an interview. During the interview the person shares with us their situation & why they need assistance. We have a few requirements which are, all of the children living with the family must be attending school, the parents must be seeking employment or keep their current employment, the family cannot continue to be abusive (some are not) to one another, they are not to lie about their story or family situation. If family members need medical care we ask that they see a physician (we will help them with transportation, medicine cost & talking to the physician if needed.) Each family knows that there is usually one scheduled visit with the family in their ger & if we have any concerns at all about the family we will have a surprise visit to ensure that the family is telling the truth, family members are safe & are adhering to the requirements we ask.
A Mongolian boy came to receive his families food last week. Their family is a mother one son & 2 younger daughters. The father left years ago & has not been part of the family at all. The mother is currently in hospital with heart problems & is trying to get the care she needs to return home. In the mean time the 15 year old son is the man of the household. During the day he is in school learning like most kids, but after school has all the responsibilities (a job to provide some family income) a father would have around the home & with his mother being in hospital also has to job of a mother to his sisters. When I met him for the 1st time this past week he was so thankful for the centres help, was not bitter or angry, but had a smile on his face & shared with us his dreams for university & a good career. He really touched my heart.
This week Teresa is in class from 9am to 5pm, not studying Mongolian, but a leadership class that many of our friends are studying with her. Kiel is on his spring break which means Esme is too. This week the kids & I are going to have fun during the days & have fun with mom in the evenings.