Finding a new world in Mongolia.
By Chris Murphy
It is impossible to not be inspired by Lonny Davis, proprietor of Davis Guest Homes and the ever-energetic leader of Hope Haven West. Hope Haven is a charity that provides wheelchairs to those lacking mobility, in many places around the world. I came to know Lonny, not through our Rotary Club connections, but through his innovative fund raising concerts that he presents to raise funds for Hope Haven.
It is always tough to find a time and the ability to get away and do charity work, much less to take vacation, but I have always tried to combine work and travel as much as possible. The possibility that we were able to take a mission to deliver wheelchairs to those in need and the mission that was next on deck was Mongolia. This is one of those places that you hear stories about, and as a kid, you were threatened on being sent to Outer Mongolia, so we felt that this was the trip for us. The need is there and this is a different and truly foreign part of the planet. So we loaded up our gear, backpack, tools and some cool clothes from Sherpa Adventure Gear and we were ready to go. Thanks to our team at Sierra Pacific Warhouse Group for running such a great operation that allowed me to take this time to do this project. We flew from SFO to Bejing, and then shuttled over to Mongolian Airlines to get to Ulaanbaatar. Arriving in the dead of night, Abbey and couldn’t wait to see what Mongolia looked like.
Day 1 – Game on
This is when Abbey and I learned how this would all work. The distribution was at a local school in Ulaanbaatar. We were assigned to teams, matched up with experienced physical therapists to ascertain the physical limits of each person, measure them, select the proper chair and then begin the process of modifying each chair to fit. The Hope Haven chair is really amazing and amazingly adjustable to accommodate growth and changes of the person. Each fitting is a rapid process of adjusting and making changes, in one case, we had to make a table frame out of old crutches for a limited mobility chair. It is exhausting work due to the speed needed, the changes on the fly and the pressure of making sure each person had something that worked for them. We had lunch in what must have been the kindergarten room sitting on the small chairs and tables and were served traditional fried Mongolian meat pies. By the end of the day, everyone who came, left with a wheelchair that was custom fit to their needs. After we got back to the hotel, of course, we found an Irish Bar, the Grand Khaan in the city center and ordered Mongolian Beef.
Day 2
It rained hard today and our job today was to finish the distribution, but this time, we had to do it all indoors. It was crazy loading the truck of the chairs we were sure we didn’t need to clear space. Our teams were working fast as there wasn’t a lot of room. Some of the chairs were really challenging with many modifications. It is amazing to see the reaction of the families, when their loved ones get a new chair, and we are so thankful for our translators as we would be dead in the water trying to communicate as there are few that even know any English. We found a Mongolian style restaurant that was a little too modern for my liking. But we loved the experience, where wiped out and walked back to our hotel for final final. The next day is the National Festival of Naadam.
