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Why we came to Mongolia

I asked Peter, my husband, if he would like to share some thoughts with you on how he feels about his job here as Project Manager of the World Vision Mongolia, Street Childrens Project and also how we came to be doing this kind of work.

"At 55 years old I wondered if I was going prematurely senile, giving up a secure professional job I enjoyed and had worked at in various places for the last 30 odd years. Also after raising and educating 6 daughters, Sue and I figured we would maybe now have a few spare dollars to spend on ourselves!

Having worked as a Medical Technologist in a training hospital in Zaire in the 60's and 70's and then as a Project Manager of an Unaccompanied Children's Centre in the Rwandan Refugee Camps in Goma, Zaire in 1994 and 95, we decided, since our family responsibilities had lightened somewhat, we would like to be involved again in Aid and Development work which we enjoy. So when we were accepted for this job in Mongolia we were happy to have the opportunity to do so again."

His job involves a fair amount of administrative duties, e.g. sharing management team responsibilities for World Vision Mongolia's numerous projects. He is also responsible for his own programme, the Street Children's Project which with his team of 15 well educated, young Mongolian men and women, is progressing very well.

Then there are meetings with various authorities and other N.G.O.'s, preparing Budgets, writing proposals, preparing, researching and writing lectures for seminars relating to his projects. These are some of the many and varied activities which keep him very busy.

"Despite all these administrative responsibilities I try to be at my desk as little as possible. I prefer to be out and about where the action is, with the children in the various Lighthouse Centres, visiting our Alternative Education programmes in the schools, even dealing with the police and other officials, trying to get things going for those children who live in such difficult situations."

"This is one of the reasons that I love my wife so much as she does so much of the administration for me which lets me get out more!! Having stepped out of my professional field into an entirely new job in my `later years' I have found a whole new and interesting world. It is also challenging, exciting and rewarding, stretching some of my learned skills and even discovering others I didn't know I had. I've never regretted my decision for a moment!" .