Children all throughout the world live in many different circumstances. I believe that an education is the only equalizer in a world full of inequality, poverty, and injustice!
Some have privileges to go to schools of their choosing, attend sport activities, and work on becoming doctors and teachers.
For some, however, these opportunities never knock at their doors. Some children wouldn't recognize these doors because they are homeless. In the capital city of Mongolia, many children now live under the streets, becoming the so-called "street children." For them, manholes are their playgrounds and other children are their only education. Many of them beg and some girls prostitute as a means of sheer survival. In a nation that prides itself in family traditions, how did these precious children end up on the streets?
In some ways, the answer is easy. The majority of these children come from poor families. On the other hand, the answer can be much more complicated. For example, many children were left unsupervised, kicked out, or ran away from their homes to escape harsh poverty or abuse. In some circumstances, grandmothers were left to raise these children on their meager pensions.
Despite these differences, those at greatest risk of becoming tomorrow's street children are poverty-stricken children. Although public schools are free in Mongolia, other costly school requirements prevent these children from attending and forces them to drop out. For them, poverty means no school uniforms, P.E. class uniforms, school supplies, book fees, or backpacks. Poverty means destitution.
I have been thinking about working on preventative measures for a while. Due to a lack of statistics and an organized-welfare system, it has been tough to identify children at risk of becoming the next street children. All of last year, I focused on building relationships with local government officials and schools in order to identify 10 children who need help to continue going to school. With that in mind, I created a program entitled, "Send Children 2 School" that sponsored ten children who recently dropped out of school to go back. Specifically, I asked school administrators, along with school district officials, to identify children that recently dropped out because they didn't have the money for uniforms, books, or basic school supplies. To verify these requests, school officials visited the homes of every child and submitted a list of names that filled three to four pages. In a heart-wrenching decision, I had to pick ten lucky children but hope to sponsor many more children in the years to come.
I was so excited to go visit these children and hear their stories. They were so inspiring that I decided to introduce them to you in a more personal way. As part of my visit, they individually expressed their gratitude and wrote wonderful letters to their sponsors. Accordingly, these children include the following:
1. Misheel
2. Purevchuluun
3. Munkh-Orgil
4. Otgontsetseg
5. Osokhbayar
6. Tugsjargal
7. Otgonjargal
8. Enkhzul
9. Batkhorloo
10. Lkhamaa
When the children were identified, I prayed for people like you whose generosity and kind hearts made this project a reality. I have sent their photos, including their sweet letters, to all of you who donated to this program.
Here, I'm only introducing some of the children who were given the opportunity to attend school, thus opening doors to possibilities of realizing their dreams.
This is Misheel. She is 7 years old. Her father passed away and left her mom to take care of Misheel and her three brothers. Her mom struggles to find employment and has little money. She recently started selling fruit on the street corners. Misheel loves her new uniform and loves to attend school where she is making new friends.
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This is Purevchuluun. He is 7 years old. He is one of many children who his parents are trying to support. His mom is disabled, and his father works odd jobs at construction sites. His father's monthly salary is $120. To give you an idea how much money that is in Mongolia, imagine that a one bedroom apartment costs $400-600 to rent.
This is Munkh-Orgil. His name means "Eternal Peak." He is 8 years old and attends 3rd grade. Munk-Orgil lives with his grandparents who have raised him since he was an infant. His grandmother is severely disabled. Munkh-Orgil and his grandparents live on his grandfather's small pension. When I was visiting with him at his school, many of Munkh-Orgil's friends came around to investigate this strange lady who was taking his pictures. I overheard Munk-Orgil explain my presence in a very boastful manner, "I'm gonna be famous in America!"
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This is Otgontsetseg. She is 8 years old. Her name means "little flower." She lives with her older sister and mom. Her mother works as a janitor/doorman and makes $80 a month. Otgontsetseg loves her sister and lets her sister carry her new backpack to school sometimes. She explained her act to me with these words, "I let her shine sometimes at school by letting her carry my American backpack. My sister tells me that when she has my backpack many of her classmates want to be her friend."
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These handsome boys are brothers Otgonjargal and Tugsjargal. They love their new uniforms and new backpacks. They kept telling their parents, "These backpacks are from America. Only cool children in America carry these backpacks!" Although these brothers look a lot alike, they are very different in personality and in interests. Tugsjargal (to the left) loves sports and has won a silver medal in a sports competition at school recently. He is very outgoing and curious. His brother Otgonjargal, to the contrary, is very sweet and cordial. He lets his younger brother talk most of the time while I visited them in their home.
This is their one room home with no plumbing and no running water. It's a 4-feet-by-9-feet room that is shared by 9 people! Their home is smaller than most of our master bathrooms and it broke my heart to see them in such circumstances.
Here is Otgonjargal posing in his new uniform in front of the poster of an Olympian gold medalist from Mongolia. Oh, how high do children's dreams soar! Otgonjargal asked me to take his picture in front of this famous Mongolian wrestler's poster because he dreams of becoming an important person when he grows up! Although we may only see the challenges he faces, he still dreams and believes that he has a fighting chance.
Thank you for supporting the amazing dreams of children like Otgonjargal. We can make his dreams - and myriad dreams like his - come true!
This project clearly shows that miracles are happening in Mongolia and that you can make a difference. I'm so grateful for your generosity and look forward to our continued partnership!
