Sam reflects on a challenging but moving summer in Mongolia

Lotus Children’s Centre (Mongolia), Volunteers' Stories 25 Aug 2017

jv website lotus big sky 2017jv website Lotus volley ball

Sam took a gap year after school and spent several months of it volunteering at Lotus, having raised money for them before he arrived……..

Mongolia is the type of country which can seriously test one’s

own capabilities to live in such a different and unique environment. It is

not like any other country I have been to. My time in Mongolia was one

of the best, the worst, and most interesting experiences of my life. And

despite the obvious flaws I came across, it has bettered me as a human

being, and opened my eyes to a whole new world.

Upon arriving in Chinggis Airport, I was greeted by my well meaning taxi driver (I was blissfully unaware of the fortune she was going to charge me for the ride). I went straight to the lotus guest house where I could acclimatise and sort myself out, and without going into great detail that didn’t work very well for me. Nevertheless, two days later I arrived at Lotus Children’s Centre in Gachhurt (about 28km east of Ulaanbator). My first action and response was to soulfully stare at the breathtaking mountainous scenery.

jv website lotus scenery 2017

My day to day role was very dependent on what the kids wanted to do, I discovered that I could not simply make a repeating schedule for the kids to take part in,  something like a class, otherwise they would get bored and stop attending. I would have to ask the kids if they wanted to take a guitar or art or English class with me before actually doing the class. Most days I would teach guitar to a couple children at a time, we then would either play basketball, football, volleyball, and on some days we (volunteers) would organise a competition for all the kids to take part in, which they all loved.

jv website lotus guitar lessonjv website Lotus at the river

On some days we would organise for the kids to either come on

a hike with myself and the other volunteers, or maybe walk down to

the nearby river where they could swim in the freezing cold water – which

on the hot days was such a special thing to do.

The food that we had to eat was simple and basic, but home

cooked and actually easy to get used to and actually became quite

nice (psychologically), it would consist of a few main ingredients

including rice, potatoes, onions, carrots, noodles and select

vegetables. Only so often would we ever get meat.

Showering and keeping clean was a massive difficulty for us volunteers (being western and not used to the living conditions).  I was very lucky with the time I arrived as Lotus had recently installed a new toilet and showering facility solely for the volunteers only. So there was running water in these facilities, however hot water was non existent. The facility did come with a small boiler to heat up the water, however shortly after it was connected to the electrics it blew the fuse box and the wires thanks to the incorrect wiring and lack of electrical knowledge from the Mongolian electricians.

jv website lotus gardening 2017

However, as I stated before, the flaws are massively

overshadowed. I discovered one thing about Lotus which I wasn’t

expecting to discover, and I certainly didn’t think it would be the

highlight of my trip, but for me it came out on top. It was the

connection and relationship I built with the kids.

jv website lotus riding 2017

The children are so wonderful, so independent, so exciting, and so generous with their love and kindness. This was the most rewarding thing I took away from being at Lotus. The children made the entire trip worthwhile, and I will never forget them. Each day I had so much love and kindness given to me, they love their volunteers who come to Lotus, they treat them with respect and show them their souls. It was the most amazing feeling being able to connect with them like this when they have had such difficult lives.

jv website lotus wrestling 2017

Projects Opening up again in 2022!

The Building Bridges Beyond Borders programme in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia is now opening up to international volunteers. The first people are arriving now and we will be looking for new volunteers to come to Malaysia in September. If you are interested please get in touch!

read more

Harry and Rob cycled across the world to raise money for a solar project at Lotus

Below is Harry’s report of their stopover at Lotus itself last month Learn about their journey: https://www.farsidestudio.com/risingsuncycle We think its important to give you our loyal following and supporters a genuine warts-and-all appraisal of Lotus. A rose-tinted ‘Live Aid-esque’ money magnet advert will not give you the understanding of the real issues and dynamics at Lotus. […]

read more

Ruby Recounts Some of the Joys and Unexpected Events of Her First Week at Lotus

Ruby is taking a break from her acting career in the UK to help with running the summer camp in Mongolia this summer. These are some of her first impressions.……. I arrived on Children’s Day, a happy accident due to changed train timetables, and it couldn’t have been a more special introduction to Mongolia and […]

read more

Mongolia...Volunteer in One of the World's Most Exotic Countries!

The Ultimate Big Sky Country! Each summer, except 2020, The Lotus Children’s Centre looks for volunteers to help run activities with the children this summer at the home in Mongolia, one of the world’s least known and most under-populated countries. Perhaps you would like to consider this for NEXT SUMMER? (However, we may still take […]

read more

Sam reflects on a challenging but moving summer in Mongolia

Sam took a gap year after school and spent several months of it volunteering at Lotus, having raised money for them before he arrived…….. Mongolia is the type of country which can seriously test one’s own capabilities to live in such a different and unique environment. It is not like any other country I have […]

read more

International Jewellery Designer Cherry Chau visits Lotus Children's Centre in Mongolia

Earlier this month Cherry Chau visited Lotus and spent a weekend teaching the children the art of decorative felting…….. First the wool Lots of Colour Lots of patient attention And after the classes, time to go out and play!

read more

Star volunteered in Mongolia

  Star graduated from Cambridge in 2015 and headed for Lotus in Mongolia for 6 weeks…. Lessons Learned at Lotus Orphanage If you have any doubts about volunteering at Lotus for any reason, put that away to the back of your mind. To quote the eternal Sneaker wisdom of multinational corporation Nike, “Just do it […]

read more

Gary volunteers in Mongolia

Gary, a quantity surveyor from Scotland gave up his job and moved to Mongolia Coming to Mongolia I  came to Lotus Children’s Centre to volunteer for one year. It was quite a big career change for me as I quit my steady job in Scotland and decided to come to an orphanage in Mongolia, never […]

read more

Lotus Children’s Centre

The Lotus Children’s Centre in Mongolia has an urgent need for volunteers to help run activities in their summer camp this year. Mongolia is one of the world’s least known and most under-populated countries this would be a true adventure with real value! MONGOLIA