Lotus Children’s Centre – Day 5&6

19-20th June 2014
Gachuurt, Ulanbaatar

The weather turned a little foul today, with rain almost all day, turning the ground to a muddy mess and boxing the children up inside.  Table tennis was one of the entertaining activities keeping the small hands active, and when the bracket holding the net to the table failed, I spent a little time fixing it back together with some timber offcuts from the yesterdays work.

Then it was back to the kitchen, chopping vegetables for the lunch meal.  Potatoes, carrots, cabbage, turnips and capsicum, all in large volumes, passed over my chopping board and under the knife.

After lunch, the next task was building some small boxes to hold the 15 fire extinguishers securely to the walls.

The following morning, we all piled in the van 35 kids and adults (in an 11 seat bus) kids on kids on kids. Soon many of them were asleep on top of each other, it was a pretty funny sight.
On arriving at the children’s centre and finishing the fire extinguisher boxes, I then spent a few hours kicking the football around with a group of kids.  A few of them showed great football skills, especially one little guy who’s kneecap was near the top of the ball, but still managed to get over and around the ball.  I ended up with a bruised purple toe, how I did that I have no idea.

After measuring up and creating a drawing for the building of a basketball court and ice skating rink, everyone was piled back in the bus for the ride into Ulaanbaatar, where the kids were going to a concert.  Goodbyes were said, and I headed back to the hotel to prepare for departing UB and heading off into wild Mongolia.

I’ve really enjoyed the time I spent at Lotus, the kids are absolute gems. Tough little nuggets, but with a good core. Many of them have really sad stories from their past, but they now have a great extended family at Lotus, along with the care and love of Didi and the team.

I’m especially grateful to all the friends and family that supported Lotus with financial support, that means a tremendous amount to me, especially after seeing first hand what a huge difference that support is making to the lives of children in Ulaanbaatar.
Thank you.

I’m sad to be leaving Ulaanbaatar and Lotus, but it is time to get back on the road. There is over 1800km of off-road riding to cover before the Russian border, and just over two weeks to cover it before my Mongolian visa expires, so it’s time to pack the bike and discover the north of Mongolia.