Ulzii's story
Hello, my name is Ulzii. I want to share a story of my life. The first seven years of my life were tough, and I ended up living on the streets and under the streets where we kept warm because the big heating pipes run under the ground to the apartment blocks. Sometimes I would wake up to find someone I knew had died by being burned badly because they had passed out drunk and landed on the hot pipes.
During this time when we lived on the streets, there was a girl older than me who came to stay with us sometimes and she found out about World Vision and a centre they ran called the Day Activity centre. In 2000 when I was seven my Mum took me to this centre where she knew I could be during the day where I could get clean, do some educational activities as well as eat good food and find warmth and safety. For a while, my Mum would usually pick me up and take me back to where we lived on the streets. After a few weeks she just didn’t turn up and World Vision staff brought me to a place they called the Lighthouse where I could stay with other girls my age in similar circumstances.
At the Lighthouse, I met Peter and his wife Sue who are World Vision staff and had come from New Zealand, a far-off country I had never heard of. Through the project of World Vision the staff who worked there deeply cared for children like me who had been abandoned, neglected, or abused. The staff who worked at the centre worked very hard to help children get opportunities they would never have had otherwise. Because of their hard work as a team we were clean, protected, getting schooling, and even learning to sing in a choir. They came out to summer camp and spent time talking and playing games with us.
One day my Mum came to the Day Activity Centre and after talking to the World Vision staff came to me and told me my father had died. I was heartbroken as I was closer to my dad and sobbed for a long time. I never saw my mother after that visit she simply vanished from my life. I have searched everywhere I could think of and talked with many people, but I assumed she has also died.
Another couple from New Zealand, Don and Helen, partnered with Rangiora High School to help Mongolian children at Light House learn English in New Zealand. When I was 16 I was the first student to go to New Zealand. I was told by the Mongolian staff to work hard and ensure I came back with lots of things that I could share with my peers. I was 16 years old.
I stayed with Don and Helen and every day I would travel in the car with Helen where she would talk with me and ask endless questions to help improve my English. It was very tiring, and I studied hard and kept learning as much as I could.
My year flew by and much too soon I was due to board the plane back home. Don & Helen and their family came to say goodbye and most of us were crying. It was hard to leave but, in another way, I felt excited to go home and to be able to tell my Lighthouse brothers and sisters about life in New Zealand.
I have completed my bachelor’s degree as an English teacher in the Mongolian National University of Education. I worked in Mongolia until 2018 and I came back to New Zealand.
I am a well-educated, healthy grown woman now. I would not be here if it were not for World Vision and wonderful families for us when we needed support. There are hundreds of children’s lives who have completely changed because of Light House in Mongolia.
