We are Curtin University students aiming to fundraise a total of $5000 for a community development project in Mongolia. Invited by the Vice Governor of Tunkhel, Mongolia, a group of 11 Curtin University students will participate in an international practicum program. This opportunity allows us to contribute to the development of the Selenge and Tuv Province in the Mandal Sum region, by repairing and constructing public spaces and amenities. Our team is collaborating with the Tunkhel Sustainable Development Centre NGO, which leads sustainable projects within the area.

Our team consists of 11 students and 2 faculty members who will be tackling two key project areas: a library at Lotus Children’s Centre in Gachuurt, and a shelter at Tunkhel train station. Below are the details about the two assigned projects:

Lotus Children’s Centre Library:

We are aiming to create a public library within the orphanage. Currently, there are very few public options available for the children to engage in mentally stimulating activities such as reading. With this project, we hope to create a library that will allow the children to explore further interactive learning and recreational activities, and provide the community with a space to collaborate and learn. It will be a cozy, nurturing space for Gachuurt’s children!

Shelter at Tunkhel train station:

With Tunkhel experiencing increased domestic tourism, we hope to improve comfort when travelling by adding useful and convenient amenities to the area. Tunkhel is a dairying community with notably beautiful, natural and attractive scenery. We hope to make travelling feel less tiresome with this shelter, and encourage travel in Mongolia to make their culture more known.

Our team members include: Ella Huynh, Sonia Shepherdson, Kira Amidzic, Cahlan Brown, Aliarna Doody-Burras, Pham Thao Vy, Veronica George, Will Jacobsen, Steven Duong, Luke Vucemillo, Adel Ahamed and Eliza Taylor.

Please help us with our cause to improve public spaces in Mongolia!

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UPDATE

Curtin students are now halfway into the Mongolian Practicum program. We have started and completed three different projects at Gachuurt's Lotus Children's Centre, where we upgraded some of their facilities such as the children's library, built a ceiling for a small gift shop and made new furniture out of pallets. Lotus Children's Centre will soon celebrate their 30th anniversary, and we aimed to complete as many projects as possible beforehand.

CHILDREN'S LIBRARY

We noticed that the library bookshelves were starting to deteriorate and sag. Some shelves were being supported by piles of books, which we determined to be unsafe for the children. We made new shelves out of spare wood the orphanage has no use for, sanded and repainted the walls, and repaired holes in the wall and ceiling.

GIFT SHOP CEILING

A new beam system was created to replace the original beams which were rotten, gave little lateral support and was at risk of collapsing. Pine lining was used to create a new ceiling giving the gift shop a necessary practical and aesthetic improvment.

PALLET FURNITURE

The orphanage had lots of spare pallets around that were not being put to use. They requested that furniture be created from the many pallets they possessed. We built 2 small benches, 1 big bench, 2 daybeds and 5 stools from offcuts of the benches/daybeds. Furthermore, we sanded and varnished all the furniture so they would be long lasting. We completed this in time for their anniversary, where they will be used in an event.

FINANCIAL UPDATE

We split the budget into two for the different projects at Gachuurt and Tunkhel. In Gachuurt, we had an opening balance of 4, 442, 381 Tugrik and spent a total of 1, 566, 800 Tugrik on materials such as paint, paintbrushes, masking tape, screwdrivers, varnish, screws, etc. We now have 2, 875, 581 Tugrik leftover.

Images of the end product of each project can be seen on this page.