Leglessbird Travel Tour

Street children in Mongolia are placed by the Mongolian government in countryside camps each summer, out of sight of tourists. These children generally have families, but have had to take to the streets because their families are too poor to keep them, or because the situation at home is so bad (perhaps due to abuse) that the streets are preferable.

Each year, people from my church in Hong Kong, Evangelical Community Church, go to one of the kids? camps in Mongolia to care for the kids, buy extra food for them, and donate clothes and other items. In the summer of 2005, I went to one of these kids? camps for the first time, and in the summer of 2006 I returned.

In many ways, my time in Mongolia has been eye-opening. It is there that I have seen some of the most beautiful sides of human nature. Once, when I was distributing donated clothes to the children, I handed a pair of trousers and a T-shirt to a boy ? he seemed to have particularly few possessions, and did not even have shoes. As I gave him the trousers and T-shirt, a girl came up, and the boy immediately gave her the T-shirt. This was only seconds after he had received it.

It was also at the camp that I saw what contentment really means. We gave the kids a bag of sweets each, and when a small boy in my group received his bag, he kissed it and pressed it close to his face? Such contentment with the little that he was given!

Going to camp and giving some love to the kids makes a difference. I have heard from those who have been to camp five years in a row that they have seen real change in the children: they have become less violent and more loving over the years. But surely we can do more than make annual trips.

Our group this year has begun to consider how we can help poor families in Mongolia in a sustainable way. Rather than simply giving them money, we hope that we can help families to earn their living by manufacturing Mongolian products and then selling those products abroad. We are still throwing ideas around, and a lot of thinking still needs to be done, but this is a start.

I have also been thinking beyond Mongolia. There is great poverty in many countries ? how can we help? I have begun to think about how corporations, who often have so many resources, can help. Many companies give to charities and encourage their employees to do community service. This is undoubtedly one of the ways to help. Even more far-reaching is if corporations ensure that they demonstrate corporate social responsibility in everything they do. For example, some companies require potential suppliers in developing countries to contribute to their local communities before the companies purchase from those suppliers. By acting in a socially responsible manner, a company can help less well-off communities, better retain employees by increasing job satisfaction in terms of helping them feel that they are contributing to society, and also build up goodwill amongst consumers and potential clients. This is just the beginning of my thought process which my recent trip to Mongolia sparked off.