Mongolian Transformation by Nicole

Mongolian Transformation by Nicole - May 2018 Scholarship Essay

Bookbridge is an international organization that builds English learning centers in Mongolia, Cambodia, and now Sri Lanka. As part of my schooling when I lived abroad, we were required to get 50 hours each in the areas of creativity, action, and service in terms of extracurricular programs. Bookbridge certainly fit all three, but it was part of the service requirement that I entered. I find that the work I did with them was instrumental in understanding the world, and what poverty on a global scale is.

In the first year, the involvement the organization had was local. To fundraise, our advisor wanted us to come up with creative ways to make money and not just do bake sales like most other service groups with chapters in school do. This included pizza parties hosted by older grades for book drives, and having the annual waffle stand at a Christmas market. Certainly these brought the expat and German communities within the school together, and they also taught me a lot about logistics of making money in a vendor type situation.

The second year, we touched the hearts of all the children in the school by hosting a Harry Potter night. This was a massive undertaking which involved all of the members. We prepared banners, a sorting ceremony, wand making, potions, a themed candy shop, and quidditch. I was in charge of quidditch and spent extra time making buttons for the sorting ceremony as well as starting the banners for the houses. It was certainly a night that left a lasting impact on me.

The pinnacle, though, of what I learned was not from these fundraising activities. Instead, it was what the fundraising was for. That spring, we took a group of 8 to Mongolia to go and visit and work with the learning centers for a week. As one of the most avid members of the group, I was selected to come and participate. It was an entirely new experience for me.

In Mongolia, poverty is not like in the United States. Most people do not have plumbing in their houses. Coal factories pump soot out of their chimneys until entire cities are covered in it. Cows from the miles of empty plains run through the few roads in the center of rural cities. Mongolian highways are what are considered to be bumpy back roads in the United States. Dust storms from unsteady soil are common.

Yet, despite all of this, the Mongolians welcomed us gratefully. They took us into their homes and showered us with cheeses, traditional dress, delicacies, among other things. They were grateful for the confidence we reassured in them when we taught in their learning centers, and for the murals we painted. It was this kind demeanor and optimism that was inspirational. Even when I got extremely sick from the food there, my host family took good care of me.

I think our visit there impacted both sides. The Mongolians that we met were happy to see us, and we learned a lot about what our mission was by being there. You could tell the difference from our organization’s efforts. The 10-year-old English dictionaries were so worn that their covers had been taped back on. It’s for reasons like this that I hope that with the resources it has, my University will have outreach programs that I can continue to help with.