Raising Lotus Flowers
Becoming part of an extended family at the Lotus Children’s Centre in Ulaanbaatar may not have been what AYAD Ben Rodgers was expecting when he applied to the AYAD Program but his time in Mongolia, lending his business and organisational skills to the Centre has been full of unexpected and unexpectedly moving experiences.
The mid 1990s was a tough period for Mongolian families. Following the collapse of the USSR, Mongolia moved from communism to a free market democracy. The withdrawal of Soviet support meant the collapse of many social services. This coupled with several bad winters resulted in economic crises.
In 1993 an Australian woman, Didi Kalika, was teaching yoga in Ulaanbaatar. She was shocked by the plight of so many kids living on the streets and started to help them by providing food and first aid. She soon realized that there was a need for more assistance. In 1995, with the help of some friends, she started the Lotus Children’s Centre to provide help to these children, many of whom come from terrible backgrounds and have suffered abandonment, sexual abuse, malnutrition and domestic violence. Didi and her friends aimed to not only supply immediate assistance but also to attempt to break the cycle of poverty for kids in their care.
Today Lotus Children’s Centre houses, educates and provides care to 107 poor and abandoned Mongolian children whose ages range from newborn to teenagers. From its roots as a shelter for 10 young women, over the last 15 years Lotus has developed a kindergarten and a school and it is now developing vocational and tertiary avenues for older children, which include a vegetarian café and guesthouse.
Didi Kalika continues to direct the work at Lotus with the aim of giving the children a chance to change their lives for the better. This is achieved through quality education meaningful activities and by creating small family groups (10 children to one housemother).
“Every summer the Lotus children leave the ger district that is their home to Lotus Centre and live in the fresh air of the countryside, as well as participating in outdoor activities important to all Mongolians” says Didi, “Lotus also helps other poor families with income projects and food assistance so poverty does not tear their family unit apart.”
International volunteers have been an important part of the development of Lotus. Every year a number of people travel to Mongolia to assist with the summer camp, many of whom become strong supporters of Lotus back in their home countries.
With education a pillar of its programs, when Lotus started their school and kindergarten it sought the help of volunteers to assist with operations, school management and development of an arts program.
AYAD volunteers (placed with other Mongolian NGOs) have been helping at Lotus in their free time since the AYAD Program first started in Mongolia. In 2007, the AYAD In-country Manager, Munkhtuul Sodnomsteren, began working with Lotus to place an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development within the organisation, focusing on business management.
AYAD Ben Rodgers was placed at Lotus in March of 2008. With an educational background in business from RMIT, and previous work experience in residential youth programs, Ben found working at Lotus different from other organisations with which he had worked.
“Lotus is located in a ger (yurt) district between two coal fuelled power stations. It is a rough district. When I arrived there was no computer, and I shared an office with a 3 month old baby who had been abandoned.”
As with many grassroots organisations, Ben thinks the challenge is strengthening organisational functions while maintaining the heart and soul of operations - in this case connecting with kids and making their lives better.
‘My learning curve has been steep, and I feel that it is only in the last couple of months that I have built the relationships necessary to make a difference. The small things are what matter. For example teaching my Mongolian counterpart how to Sum in Excel, and have her show off to others how useful she found the program, was really rewarding. Our staff already do amazing work, and hopefully I am strengthening those skills and introducing ideas that make their jobs easier’
Lotus employs over 40 staff, from teachers in the kindergarten and school to firemen who stoke the fires during the long cold winter. On the administration side, there are 2 managers and a director who oversee a very diverse range of operations. With his focus on organisational management over the last 9 months, Ben has facilitated the development of marketing and communication activities, staff training and new programs, to the practical issues of efficient office layout and establishing meeting procedures.
As a charity, raising money is crucial to the continuing existence of Lotus. Lotus is funded through a couple of large institutional donors, and hundreds of individuals who donate regular small amounts. From 2009, the Swiss organisation Trafigura Foundation will contribute just under 50% of operating expenses.
Marketing is an essential part of Lotus’ activity and this year a fundraising dinner with Aussie AFL Legends Ron Barassi, David Shaw and Garry Baker netted A$48,000 for Lotus’ new community centre. In late 2009 Lotus looks to move to a new facility in Garchuurt, located on the other side of Ulaanbaatar away from the pollution of the ger district. A partner organisation is providing the project management experience for this, leaving Didi and Lotus to concentrate on day-to-day operations.
One way Lotus looks to strengthen its organisational structure is to provide pocket money for the older teens to run tours for the visitor groups who come to Lotus each summer. This will have the benefits of giving teens language and work skills, freeing up time for Lotus management during the busy summer season while allowing more people to hear about the work of Lotus. Having a platform to organise the teens is already showing advantages, according to Lotus manager Bolormaa:
“It helps children’s behaviour and character. Teenagers didn’t have this before, and we can see children change. They are better, they listen more.”
Ben has also put energy this year into arranging the office into work stations and meeting spaces, and trying to get people excited about office chairs. In addition, there has been a focus on running meetings in a more structured way, so that people know what will be discussed at the meeting beforehand, and establishing ways in which everyone can contribute to the discussion. Organisational changes like these can have a big impact.
“Things are changing,” smiles Bolormaa, “now, running a meeting we know what to do. Before it wasn’t like that. The housemother training has been really good. The staff are getting a better understanding of kids and are changing for the better.”
Ben finds the positives of Lotus tempered with the struggles of working in a country that is still establishing itself domestically and internationally.
There are also challenges with the kids themselves. On school camp a kid woke in the middle of the night dreaming of being attacked, and I wasn’t able to help him because of the language barrier.”
Beyond the cultural environment, part of the struggle is the simple fact that it takes time to effect change, much longer than the 12 months Ben will be with Lotus:
“There is so much going on so I need to choose my time carefully on what issues require a more long-term approach to effect change and what is possible in my time here.”
The Lotus environment that Didi has created and sustained over these many years is still strong and Ben has really enjoyed being part of the Lotus family:
“There is an intangible benefit of working with kids. Seeing them grow up, seeing them learn. Having little toddlers stomp down the corridor into the office and play with the flashy buttons on my computer, which restarts it! Being here is being part of a huge family, including weddings and funerals. And also becoming a protective older brother for the teenagers that want to borrow my phone, I’m always asking them ‘Who are you calling?’”
Lotus cares for 107 children, many of whom will need care for many years. By improving the business management of the organisation through partnering with the AYAD Program is a benefit strongly felt by the Lotus staff. Sutapa, a long serving Lotus manager, says:
“The main thing has been to help Lotus management have a better way of running the centre. Because none of us are professionals, our experience comes from working at Lotus. It is good to improve on what we already do.”