Teamrockape

We woke up this morning to a site we hadn't seen since driving through Belgium, rain. After breakfast we went round to the Go Help offices and introduced them to Clint, the Mechanic there was suitably impressed, he couldn't believe how clean he was.  Migah arranged for us to visit the Book House, as we drove out of the city it quickly became apparent how poor the area was that we were visiting, the houses become much smaller and more like shacks, there were no big shops as there are in the City, in fact I don't recall seeing a shop.  On the journey there we saw people stood by the roadside arm outstretched holding jars, apparently they were trying to sell mushrooms or nuts picked from the mountains, one man just had two bags of mushrooms, the rain was hoofing down and he was soaked, I can't imagine how desperate he must have been for a small amount of money to stand there in the pouring rain while cars splashed past him, it was pretty heartbreaking and I found myself struggling to stop the tears as we neared the Book House.  When we walked in however we saw a few children around mostly playing with jigsaw puzzles, they only had about half a dozen and they were very old and tattered, some had bits missing off them but they amused themselves by completing the puzzle, taking them apart and repeating over and over, no complaints, no moaning that they were bored, no moaning that they couldn't get on the Internet or their PS3 wasn't working, because they probably have never seen a PS3, these poor kids are so destitute it's beyond me, and I have to be honest, these kids were not all smiley and happy with their lot, they did not complain but there was something missing.  When we decided to take part in this trip our aim was to bring an ambulance to the needy and we didn't really concentrate too much on the other projects, I regret this enormously and wished so much that we had brought more with us.  For me today's visit has cemented a firm commitment to continue to help these children, and we are currently sourcing some educational books to be delivered to the offices in UB for distribution where needed.  I am only telling you this becaus I would advise anyone thinking of doing anything at all for a Charity to stop thinking and go for it, most of us are very fortunate and have plenty of everything we need and a whole lot more, life isn't balanced or fair, but think about it, anyone of us could be on the other end of the scale.  Thanks to everyone for supporting us and watching our blogs, it means a lot to us, this is our last night in UB and we are now going to have our final traditional Mongolia dinner and a few beers, no more driving!  We are also proud to let you know we were the first vehicle to arrive! : ))) I know this is not a race but still............... Huge thanks for Chris's awesome driving skills, we wouldn't have arrived here without any repairs otherwise, and now for the final time. Bye from Teamrockape 

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