Lovely Mongolia. Lovely Children.

The beauty here spans far beyond the green mountains that envelope the city and dominate the skyline...the children here are absolutely wonderful!

I've been living in a traditional "ger" (Mongolian house) for the past week with the children at Achlal (www.achlal.mn) who have been left by their parents. It's surprising the transformation they must have gone through as a result of living together and being at Achlal with teachers who care deeply for each and every child. The children here are so responsible, performing their dailiy tasks as a unit.

There are two things this school does well:
1) Provide responsibilities for the kids:
Vulnerable children need responsbilities. Not only do they feel like an important member of the team, but it helps shape their behavioral problems. At times, their violent street-mannerisms come out, but from the interview, I found out that actually many of them have reformed drastically since they arrived.
2) Create an environment that is conducive to creativity and imagination:
The school is colorful and creatively decorated with paintings, mosaics, and posters. The children have music class, painting class, and crafts courses, including how to make wool felts the traditional way. During the interviews, the children always voiced that they enjoyed these activities the most at school. For grades one through four, these types of stimilating activities are truly the best!