MONGOLIA

Accusations and their repercussions

Even so I always wondered why anyone would ever read someone's opinion on public events, I couldn't help it. Here are my 5 cents about the accusations towards Greg Mortenson by CBS's 60 Minutes.

happenstancefamily.blogspot.com/2011/04/accusations-and-repercussions.htm

Happy egg hunt in the rain!

Best, Martina

Updated posts on Happenstance blog

Hello everyone,

I apologize for the interruption of blog posts. We had a technical glitch and, while in Mongolia, I combined the two impossible things - parenting and making a movie! But now we back up and running!

Please stay tuned for updates about Mongolia and our film - currently titled "8th trip to Baaskaa"

http://happenstancefamily.blogspot.com/2011/04/handing-out-goods.html

Best wishes, Martina

the children's update from October 2010 trip are now available on the website!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I hope you've enjoyed the holidays and are still doing so! I managed to spend 
most of the time in my pajamas and I have to say I've loved it.

Also, I was able to complete the updates about the kids - please check back for 
the travel update in January!

the kids are all doing well: Baaskaa is getting antsy to work as an excavator 
driver;Nasa is learning a craft and beginning to open up;Vannie is discovering 
that his decisions have repercussions;Davaa is blooming into a young, 
responsible man, and visiting his ill mother often; andEnkhtsetseg has started 
her vocational training and rediscovered city life - she may be biting off more 
than she can chew!

to keep up with the lives of these very special children, go to 
www.eternalblueskyofmongolia.org/thekids

I am also happy to announce that the photo exhibit at Ciao For Now in the East 
Village is being held over to January 13th. If you haven't had a chance to 
visit, please come have a look. You can preview the photos at this link:

Children-Of-the-Blue-Sky

If you are interested in purchasing one of these 16x20 framed photos, please 
contact me at maradwan@earthlink.net.Your purchase is tax-deductible and the 
proceeds will go directly to the children, helping to secure livestock, clothes, 
school supplies and more.

For the children, 2010 was a good year. Initially I had hoped to place more 
children, but with the funds and resources we had, five was the right number. In 
order to do it right, we have to stay small. I am not a big fan of care centers, 
as I have seen too many children go in and out through a revolving door, with no 
real progress. It's a hard decision, because I keep thinking about the "could 
haves" and "should haves", but I'd rather be in charge of a few and do it well. 

I am of course hoping to help more children in 2011! 

On my last night in Mongolia I accompanied the police on a nightly raid to 
collect street children. With the help of kids already in the center, Ayurzana's 
officers searched for kids in hot spots like malls, game centers and coffee 
shops. Within three hours we had collected 24 kids. It was heartbreaking! there 
is a lot more work to do!

Please spread the word about my organization to people you think would be 
interested. 

If you wish to donate to Children Of the Blue Sky or one particular child, 
please go towww.eternalblueskyofmongolia.org/donate. and let me 
know who should benefit from the donation. 

thank you very much for your support. I can not repeat it often enough, I would 
not be able to do what I do without your help, encouragement and excitement for 
the project. 

I wish everyone a Happy New Year. May the next year bring happiness, health and 
success to you. 



Best, Martina

Children Of the Blue Sky

December 1st to December 31st, 2010

Ciao For Now

www.ciaofornow.com
523 E 12th Street, btwn. Ave. A & B; p: (212) 677-2616

Please join us for the Opening on December 9th, 7pm - 9pm.

For more information about my work in Mongolia please go to www.eternalblueskyofmongolia.org

If you are still looking for Christmas presents, please check out the Mongolian Felt slippers, handmade by the children in my program. they will be available for sale at the opening. For a preview, please go to
childrenofthebluesky.wordpress.com

Hope to see you all!
Best, Martina

___________________________________
Martina Radwan
http://www.eternalblueskyofmongolia.org/
9172516366

turtle news from turtle Martina...

Hello everyone, 

I am back from Mongolia, where I spent the month of October. 

All kids are fine and in good health. 

Baaska - Baaska decided (not entirely voluntarily) that he will stay on the farm
until next spring, because he realized that Byambaa really needed him. Byambaa 
had built a green house and needed all hand on deck for the work and first 
harvest. But he is dying to go go out and work, to become independent and be 
able to support himself. 


Davaa - Davaa spent his summer at Byambaa's, and turned out surprisingly fit 
for life in the country. We didn't think that Davaa was made for manual labor, 
but he proved us wrong! Now Davaa is back in Naleikh, in his second year of 
vocational training to become a bulldozer driver. He is looking forward to 
graduate next May. 


Nasa - again, was the biggest surprise, she matured very much. For the first 
time she initiated serious conversations. During the last trip she started to 
chat, which surprised all of us, but now she has something to say. She wants to 
get her point across and hear what others think. I am very proud of Nasa!!!



Vannie - as usual, Vannie is happy, content, doesn't need anything and laughs a 
lot. When Sara visited the kids in August, he expressed for the first time that 
he wanted to write a letter to me, which he did. He seems less shy towards me, 
except that he still doesn't want me to go with him herding the animals. He 
believes it's too dirty for me!


Enkhtsetseg - she stared last September in Naleikh, the vocational school where 
Baaska and Davaa are. She loves her cooking program and to be with other teenage 
girls. I saw a lot of make up and jewelry. Her cooking program is only one year, 
so she will graduate with Davaa in May 2011. 



this trip was different from the other ones as I combined the two thing I love - 
Mongolian and film making. I participated in a film conference East Meets West 
http://eastmeetswest.culture360.org/, organized by the Arts Council of Mongolia, 
which receives a good portion of their support from the Soros foundation 
(everything always comes full circle!) 

I took Baaska with me to the conference, because I wanted to introduce him to my 
life and show him that there are other things to do out there. For five days we 
listened to panels, Mongolian film makers making their pitches and participated 
in cinematography workshops by James James Chressanthis, a DP from Hollywood. 
Baaska was very impressed and at the end of the conference Baaska expressed his 
wish to go to film school in New York and write a script about his life. So we 
will have another filmmaker in the family! Be careful what you wish for!!! 
Seriously, I am very excited that he could participate and that he now thinks 
his life' story is worth telling! 


After the conference I picked up Nasa from her home in the country and had her 
stay with me in UB. 

the last horrible winter had devastated most of Mongolia's herders, five million 
life stock perished due to cold and starvation. I wrecked my brain what to do 
for Nasa, a girl who has no education, but needs to be able to make cash, in 
case her animals die. I came up with the idea of sending her to a felt making 
workshop. Felt is a common fabric in Mongolia, used as one of the layers in the 
yurts and for clothing. We found a lovely workshop where women, in similar 
situations then Nasa, make felt slippers, calendars, boshes and other useful and 
pretty items. the women embraced Nasa and she completed her first pair of 
slippers within 4 days! When I asked her who she wants to give it to, she beamed 
"Baaska!" Baaska now owns his first pair of house slippers!



I am trying to support Nasa by selling the slippers here in New York. All 
slippers are handmade by the Nasa and the women in the workshop. 



I want to give you, my supporters, "first look". If you are interested in 
purchasing a pair, please email me which pair you'd like, to make sure it is 
still available, and then pay with credit card through my website, which makes 
your purchase a tax deductible donation. 
http://www.eternalblueskyofmongolia.org/donation.html


You can view the slippers online 
http://childrenofthebluesky.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/mongolian-felt-slippers/ 
or purchase them at Sustainable NYC 
http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/SustainableNYC/StoreFront.bok


All proceeds will go to Nasa's newly established savings account. 



throughout the next month I will publish more detailed updates abut each 
individual kid and my last trip. 


I hope this email find you all well. 

Best, Martina

I hope you enjoyed your 4th of July weekend and you are all staying cool - which
seems sort of impossible!

At the beginning of May, I went back to Mongolia to be there for Baaskaa's
graduation. Under no circumstance would I have missed this important day.
After two years of vocational school, Baaskaa graduated with very good grades
and a special award for good leadership as head of the dormitory.
Now he is a professional excavator driver, a job that is highly regarded and
paid well in Mongolia.

It is unbelievable what he's achieved in such a short time. two years ago, he
was living on the street. He had nothing and nowhere to go. Now he has a family,
a large extended family, he has many friends, and he's completed a vocational
education that will enable him to make good money. He also has a small herd of
goats, which will continue to grow. 
I am very, very proud of him. 

to read a full update of my journey, please go to spring2010

All the kids are doing fine. 

Nasa is a new girl! She started reading and writing and loves it. She is
becoming a bit more social and participates in conversations and happenings
around her. 
Davaa completed his first year of schooling. He is very concerned about his mom
and decided to start saving money for their future. 
Enkhtsetseg became a full-blown country girl. She has rosy cheeks and loves life
with Byambaa and Byaraa. 
Vannie stopped smoking and grew in height quite a bit. He almost looks like a 16
year-old boy. He loves his new life and is everyone's darling. 
Zola is still waiting to get a plot allotted, so he can live with his mom. 
Baaskaa, after a brief summer vacation on Byambaa's farm, will look for a job. 

to read more detailed updates on each child, please go to the kids

I learned something new (as always!). Every time I am in Mongolia, I buy shoes
for each kid. that is the one thing they are always asking for. this time they
asked again! I was a bit surprised, as I had just been there in January /
February - ?why would they need new shoes already? And then I saw why. the
recently purchased shoes were run down, had holes, the zippers were broken. I
finally got it. the terrain is so rough and they spend so much time outside,
that the shoes simply don't last. the only shoes that seem to make it more than
a few months are my Merrill's, which I keep leaving behind. Some of them had a
two-year life span! 
Good shoes are expensive, no matter how you look at it or which country you buy
them in. 
If anyone has contact with corporate sponsors who sell shoes, I would appreciate
to be put in touch. If anyone has old, but robust shoes that you don't need
anymore, please send them my way. Even if they have small holes, the kids will
still get a few months out of them! And it will help me financially, as funding
is always tight. 
thanks in advance. 

Please contact me if you have any questions or want more detailed accounts. 

As always, I could not have done this work without all of your support. I wish I
could share the moment of Baaskaa's graduation with more than pictures. It was
the most amazing feeling to watch him be awarded a medal for good leadership!
But the saying is right - it takes a village to raise a child!

In gratitude, Martina