©InfoMrs Dolgorsuren (74) lives on the edge of a district of ‘gers’ – traditional felt tents – with a view of a disused coal mine. “I’ve lived here for eight years,” she says. “I was originally from Nalaikh and returned here to be in my birthplace.
“I live far from town and find it difficult to go and collect my pension or to the hospital as my legs are weak. If my legs are not so bad I can take the bus, but when I return they are swollen and sore. But now I have a Red Cross volunteer who helps me.”
The volunteer comes every ten days and gives Mrs Dolgorsuren therapeutic massage, as well as helping collect firewood and dung for fuel.
Volunteer visits
“The volunteer and my neighbour are also helping me develop a vegetable garden. We’re planting potatoes, onions and carrots in my back yard,” says Mrs Dolgursuren. “It’s not only the practical help but also the friendship which really makes a difference, having someone to talk to stops me feeling so lonely.
“I wish I could do something to help my community and the Red Cross. I’d like to sew gloves or make doormats from scrap clothes, but my hands are sore from arthritis and my eyes weep, I have to wear sunglasses to protect them.
“I remember the day a Red Cross volunteer first came here. I was sitting in my ger and the volunteer came with her brother who slipped in the doorway of my ger. In Mongolia, this means that I’ll have good luck. I said, ‘are you drunk, man?’ But he wasn’t and it’s true – I have had good luck since then.”
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