The first volunteer from the Czech republic is serving in Mongolia during September and October 2022. He was sent to the mission frontiers among the poor people in ger district in Shuwuu. Who is Adam and what is his experience in Mongolia like?
1. What is your name?
My name is Adam.
2. How old are you?
I’m 26 years old, but this November I’ll be 27.
3. What is your profession?
I’m a science teacher in a science museum in the Czech Republic. I do some experiments with children and school groups. Some schools take a trip to our center, to our museum, and we have some programs about physics or chemistry or other fields of science.
4. What kind of work did you do?
I’m also a volunteer in many fields. Like, I’m a scout leader, so I have my scout group. I also help in my parish, so I take care of youth like teenagers.
5. Can you introduce your family members?
I have one mother and her name is Eve. So we‘re Adam and Eve. It’s like from the Bible. Besides my mother, I have a sister. Her name is Kateřina. She has three children, so I have three nephews. And my parents are divorced, so my father lives in a different city.
6. How did you get involved in volunteering?
As I said, I always was a volunteer. I’m a scout. I help in a parish. I like to be helpful. That’s my thing. One time my friend told me that she was in a volunteering service in Bulgaria. There are also Salesian priests. The idea, that I could be a volunteer abroad just stuck in my brain. Immediately I signed up for the course for future Salesian volunteering missionaries.
7. Why did you go Mongolia?
In the beginning, I want to go to Africa because everyone wants to go to Africa. But during my preparation, I heard that some Salesians are also in Mongolia. I was charmed by the country and I loved the landscape and large fields of grass and horses. So this first impression got me. Lately, I read something about Mongolian culture. So I decide to try Mongolia.
8. What was your experience in Mongolia for 2 months?
Firstly I have some lessons for children. I have some English classes. I also teach children how to play the guitar. I prepared science technical lessons. Besides that, I was with the children. Play some basketball with them or just ride a bike with them.
9. How well do you think the Mongolian children understood your lessons?
This is a good question because I don’t speak Mongolia. So for children, it’s extremely hard to understand what I want to tell them. And even for me, it’s challenging. Sometimes it was worse, sometimes it was better. It depends really on what kind of activity I did, but in general, it was challenging. I think most of the time children don’t understand what I want to express. I just prepared some activities for them, but no one gets it what I wanted to do. In that case, I must rearrange everything on the spot.
10. Will you come to Mongolia again?
I want to. Maybe in a year or so I can come. I would like to stay here even longer. Two months are not much. But it depends. It depends on a lot of factors. I have a girlfriend, and I work in my country, so these are the aspects that I should think about. But I want to come back again.
11. What did you like most about coming here?
Mongolian people are really helpful. They want to help and they are so nice. One time I was attacked by one drunk man. And everybody on the street just came to help me and protect me. That was an amazing experience.
12. What do you like best about volunteering?
I like one thing: I could experience the life of the Salesians priests. I could be part of this small community here. I listen to their worries and experiences, pray with them, having dinners and breakfasts. So this was something you usually can’t see.
13. Do you have any messages for people who are thinking to become a volunteer?
It’s a great thing to go for volunteering service because you just step out of your comfort zone. You can experience different approaches, different cultures, different people, different languages, and different food and this is something you couldn’t do out of your table at home.
