| |
A deep sense of mission
This was the destination of our day trip into the countryside: the Mandt Mental Hospital,
about three hours from Ulan Bator. Michelle Lewis, a member of ADRA Mongolia's Education
Team, was eager to show us. She had heard about this place in June 2001, while attending
one of the regular meetings of relief and development workers in Mongolia. At the
time, adults and children, many of them with no apparent mental disabilities, were
sharing bunk space at the facility. Education was virtually nonexistent. Food and
clothing were desperately needed. Michelle rushed to see for herself -- and witnessed
miserable conditions. "People had no energy. They were sedated. They were starving.
It was very dirty. It was very run down. It was actually a hot day so people were
outside. Few of them had clothes on." Returning to Ulan Bator that evening,
she hit an emotional wall. "I couldn't cry, I couldn't talk. I just sat there."
After a long night's sleep, she woke up with deep resolve. "I said, 'I have
to do something. I cannot walk away from this place or these people.' I was completely
motivated." Just a week after hearing about Mandt, Michelle was a woman on a
mission. And now, a year later, I was about to see the results.
NEXT PHOTO
|
