MONGOLIA

I hope you enjoyed your 4th of July weekend and you are all staying cool - which
seems sort of impossible!

At the beginning of May, I went back to Mongolia to be there for Baaskaa’s
graduation. Under no circumstance would I have missed this important day.
After two years of vocational school, Baaskaa graduated with very good grades
and a special award for good leadership as head of the dormitory.
Now he is a professional excavator driver, a job that is highly regarded and
paid well in Mongolia.

It is unbelievable what he's achieved in such a short time. Two years ago, he
was living on the street. He had nothing and nowhere to go. Now he has a family,
a large extended family, he has many friends, and he's completed a vocational
education that will enable him to make good money. He also has a small herd of
goats, which will continue to grow. 
I am very, very proud of him. 

To read a full update of my journey, please go to spring2010

All the kids are doing fine. 

Nasa is a new girl! She started reading and writing and loves it. She is
becoming a bit more social and participates in conversations and happenings
around her. 
Davaa completed his first year of schooling. He is very concerned about his mom
and decided to start saving money for their future. 
Enkhtsetseg became a full-blown country girl. She has rosy cheeks and loves life
with Byambaa and Byaraa. 
Vannie stopped smoking and grew in height quite a bit. He almost looks like a 16
year-old boy. He loves his new life and is everyone’s darling. 
Zola is still waiting to get a plot allotted, so he can live with his mom. 
Baaskaa, after a brief summer vacation on Byambaa’s farm, will look for a job. 

To read more detailed updates on each child, please go to the kids

I learned something new (as always!). Every time I am in Mongolia, I buy shoes
for each kid. That is the one thing they are always asking for. This time they
asked again! I was a bit surprised, as I had just been there in January /
February – ?why would they need new shoes already? And then I saw why. The
recently purchased shoes were run down, had holes, the zippers were broken. I
finally got it. The terrain is so rough and they spend so much time outside,
that the shoes simply don't last. The only shoes that seem to make it more than
a few months are my Merrill's, which I keep leaving behind. Some of them had a
two-year life span! 
Good shoes are expensive, no matter how you look at it or which country you buy
them in. 
If anyone has contact with corporate sponsors who sell shoes, I would appreciate
to be put in touch. If anyone has old, but robust shoes that you don't need
anymore, please send them my way. Even if they have small holes, the kids will
still get a few months out of them! And it will help me financially, as funding
is always tight. 
Thanks in advance. 

Please contact me if you have any questions or want more detailed accounts. 

As always, I could not have done this work without all of your support. I wish I
could share the moment of Baaskaa's graduation with more than pictures. It was
the most amazing feeling to watch him be awarded a medal for good leadership!
But the saying is right – it takes a village to raise a child!

In gratitude, Martina