Goat yoghurt, abandoned children, and lighthouses are not your usual school holiday but for the World Vision 40 Hour Famine travelling scholars, this was just some of what they experienced during their ten days in Mongolia.
Sixteen-year-old Betheli Calvert (from Kingsway College in Orewa) was one of three students selected for a Sanitarium-sponsored scholarship trip to Mongolia with World Vision. She saw, with her own eyes, the work done in poor communities with money raised for the 40 Hour Famine.
"It was incredible just to see what a difference we can make. It was so great to see the work World Vision is doing with our Famine funds,”
The scholars visited lots of World Vision projects, including Lighthouse Centres for street children , the Community Care project for children with intellectual disabilities and a project that trains young farmers.
The Lighthouse Centres really stood out to Betheli. Police pick young kids up from the street but if their parents can’t be found or tracked down, they literally have nowhere to go. These children, orphaned or abandoned, are then sent to the World Vision Lighthouses, which quickly become home.
“These kids have all come out of really bad situations at home, or they have no home at all. It’s really hard, coming from New Zealand, to know what that would be like.”
These Lighthouses, which have ‘house mums’ who care for the children, are a far cry from where they were before; many lived in underground tunnels in an effort to stay warm during the freezing Mongolian winter.
The travelling scholars also visited a farmers’ training programme outside the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. After tasting some goat yoghurt and some fermented horse milk (neither of which went down well!), the scholars met a 20-year-old man with a disability.
“When World Vision took him in he didn’t talk and he had no self-confidence. Now he is singing songs and is so happy - a great success story.”
Betheli says these projects proved Famine money gets there and makes a difference.
“We could see how thankful everyone was – their lives were completely changed. There were so many new opportunities that they had – children had a future ahead of them. You could definitely see the difference that World Vision was making in their lives.”
Changing lives is something this young scholar firmly believes we do when we undertake the 40 Hour Famine. Funds raised this year will go to more than 15 countries – spreading the love, far and wide.
“It’s incredible how far a little money can go in a country like Mongolia,” remarks Betheli.
Don't forget the 40 Hour Famine is on March 17-19, and it’s not too late to get involved! If you want to do the Famine yourself, whether the traditional food Famine or an alternative Famine, register online today and when your family, friends and neighbours sponsor you, remind them their generosity will be felt worlds away.
For more information, including a list of Famine-funded projects, visit www.famine.org.nz.
Goat yoghurt, abandoned children, and lighthouses are not your usual school holiday but for the World Vision 40 Hour Famine travelling scholars, this was just some of what they experienced during their ten days in Mongolia.
"It was incredible just to see what a difference we can make. It was so great to see the work World Vision is doing with our Famine funds,” 
The travelling scholars also visited a farmers’ training programme outside the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. After tasting some goat yoghurt and some fermented horse milk (neither of which went down well!), the scholars met a 20-year-old man with a disability. 
Don't forget the 40 Hour Famine is on March 17-19, and it’s not too late to get involved! If you want to do the Famine yourself, whether the traditional food Famine or an alternative Famine, register