An Amazing Opportunity

Today I had the amazing experience of going to one of the ger districts surrounding Ulaanbaatar for some home visits. I went with Baagii (the Habitat for Humanity UB affiliate program director) and a social worker from her office. We were going to visit three families who will potentially be getting homes in the Blue Sky Build II (the big project I'm working on that is taking place in July - more info about that later).

It was humbling and exciting all at once. I was incredibly interested in visiting these neighborhoods, which are basically the slums of the city; but it was also very sad to see the living conditions and to hear the stories of these families who are in such desperate need. All of the families we visited were single mother headed households. The first family lived in a building (more like a shack) and will not know if they have been selected until March probably. The other two families lived in gers and are being sponsored by the LDS church (they are members) and so will be getting houses. (One of the reasons they let me come on this home visit was because they know I'm LDS too and thought it would be more interesting for me and for the families).

The best part of the experience was the fact that we were there for a good purpose. The families were happy and hopeful because we will potentially be helping them.

 

 Some of the walkways were really narrow and all made of whatever material was available from what they looked like.

 The first house we visited.

 Inside one of the gers.

One of the families with the district in the background.

This was my favorite photo of today. It shows 2 boys wheeling water jugs in front of a huge pile of trash with a cemetery in the distance.