Dear friends,

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

As some of you may know, I have been selected by Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) to take part in the Youth for Development programme, which takes young people aged 18-25 to share their skills in the fight against global poverty.

On the 14^th August 2010, I will be leaving for Mongolia, where I will be serving as a researcher for VSO Mongolia’s Education programme. The aim of my project will be to develop a strategy for VSO in order to effectively address the country’s education needs.

Inclusion of disadvantaged children, particularly those with disabilities, will be at the heart of my project.

Based in the capital Ulaan Baatar, I will also be conducting field research and data collection in the Darkhan-Uul and Dornod provinces.

It costs VSO up to £25,000 to send a volunteer for one year; I am asking you to help me raise £900 so that other volunteers, like myself, can continue to make an everlasting difference in people’s lives.

The Mongolian education sector faces issues such as a high drop-out rate amongst disadvantaged children, limited access to education for children with disabilities, low-quality education, inadequate teacher training and a shortage of teachers in rural areas due to low salary and a lack of professional support.

Here are a few of the VSO Mongolia Education programme’s recent achievements:

-12 Mentor parents have been trained in occupational therapy and are providing a weekly service to 36 families with children with disabilities.

-60 primary school teachers and 15 school managers have been trained in disability knowledge and awareness.

- An English teacher networking and skills sharing group has been established at the National University of Mongolia  as a result of a VSO volunteer’s work.

Your donation will not go to my personal overseas placement. Instead, VSO decide where your money is most needed at the time, to maximize its effect

VSO needs to raise £10 million each year in the UK in order to continue its vital work.

 While £900 is a fraction of the total cost of a volunteer, it can, for example, help VSO keep a HIV and AIDS specialist in Tanzania for 6 months, training local professionals to prevent HIV in newborns.

I would really appreciate your support in helping VSO to continue its amazing work in sharing skills and changing lives for many years to come.

Thank you all for your generosity,

.Aliénor