 "Let's show them how to shine" My name is Anna Henley, I am eighteen years old and I have just returned from a trip to Mongolia as part of my gap year.
Here, I spent five weeks in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar teaching English to intermediate level students at Mongolia's Children's Palace and the Golden Bridge Language Centre.
In my time off, I grew close to my desk officer (I went with a volunteer organisation) and we worked together on a dream outreach project inspired by two orphaned twins who wrote a letter to an NGO detailing how their biggest wish was to open a school to give children like themselves hope. Now in their 20's these twins are shining examples of what even the most deprived children can achieve- one, after attaining a degree, became a school teacher and the other already holds a degree in economics and is currently working whilst studying for a masters. It was their story that inspired our first piece of work in the Lotus Care Centre (above. For more information see My Time in Mongolia). Here, with their assisstance, we held a dream lecture using other volunteers and intergrating artistic activities.
The children got so much out of the lecture, and it was received so well that Zulaa (my desk officer) and I started the proceedings for setting up a charity- and thus, with others, we founded the
 Simultaneously to the Dream Outreach work that Zulaa was leading, I was conducting Health and Safety training in my placements as prior to departure, I had been trained by the British Safety Council in London. At Golden Bridge, I trained 50 volunteers from the National University of Mongolia with a view to them teaching in education and care centres. Using contacts from the Projects Abroad Office I set up a link between my school and the volunteer organisation, giving them the tools to make a difference.
Meetings are held every week about the charity with the central commitee (see below) where ways towards achieving our central aims (see Dream Discovery Academy of Mongolia) are discussed. At the moment, the focus is the Summer Camp which is going to be held in the middle of June. This is where Dream Team England come in as it is our job to finance it!
We need to raise £3000 by the beginning of June to send 50 children into the countryside for a three day Dream Outreach activity. They will learn to have hope, key employability skills and, above all, have fun! Many orphans have never left Ulaanbaatar and so a trip to the beautiful Mongolian countryside will be a memorable experience.
Please have a browse of the site, donate if you can and contact me if you want to lend a hand. Keep an eye on the events page and head on over to the About Dream Team England page to see other ways you can help. |
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Dream Team England: Part of the Dream Discovery Academy of Mongolia |
Sponsored by Projects Abroad |