Trek On: Dock Werker Melissa Travels to Mongolia
In July 2016, I plan to travel to Northern Mongolia to find the Reindeer/Dukha people to learn about their culture, how they live, and share their stories with others through blog posts, photographs and articles. The Dukhans are a small Tuva Turkic community of reindeer herders living in northern KhĂśvsgĂśl Aimag of Mongolia at an altitude of 2,300m. The Dukha are one of the last groups of nomadic reindeer herders in the world, with only 40 families left. The community depends and lives off of their reindeer (Forsyth, J. A History of the Peoples of Siberia, Russiaâs North Asian Colony 1581â1990. New York: Cambridge University Press,1998). For many years I have been inspired to travel to Northern Mongolia, because of my heritage of nomads; the Cossacks who lived among the Don River in Southern Russia, urged me to connect with people who live in a place without roads, stores, and commodities that so many of us take for granted. I wish to make a connection with the Dukha community by developing relationships, learning about the daily life, and beginning a dialogue about how I can extend and continue my support that will tell their story.
My passion of collecting and telling stories to connect communities across the world began in graduate school at University California of Davis. My graduate thesis was a collection of short stories titled, âThe World Without Traveling.â It focused on the way we can travel and learn about different cultures and the world through storytelling. The idea was inspired by my involvement in a community project with Native American youth. In 2009, I was the graduate student project assistant at the Center for Art of Regional Change for the Up from the UnderStory project. I worked with a group of rural residents in the forested Sierra foothills of California to capture stories about their community in hopes to lead to community revitalization. I provided community members tools on how to tell their story. Traveling to the small town of Railroad Flat, I worked closely with youth to create a blog that documented the project's efforts: http://upfromtheunderstory.blogspot.com. The conclusion of the project was a documentary aired on PBS and presentation at UC Davis.
Following graduation I independently organized a volunteer trip to rural Northern Vietnam to Ba Vi Orphanage with three close friends. In 2008, the orphanage went through a melamine milk contamination scare, so there was a formula shortage. Through fundraising efforts we were able to pack suitcases of formula, educational supplies, and clothing to provide to the orphanage. In addition to supplies, we earned over $2,000 that we were able to use to purchase a clean water filtration system for the orphanage, so that it ensured the children would drink safe and clean water. We spent three weeks teaching english, providing care for the children, and learning about a culture that reminded us how important it is to connect to different people as a way to appreciate the world and not forget the little things. A cow tied to a tree outside of the orphanage was sacrificed on our last day to provide a meal for us. We traveled back to America filled with stories to share (an article was published in the local newspaper). Currently, I am teaching at a preschool in California telling my stories to the youngest children with hopes to inspire travelers and explorers.
In July, I plan to connect to a new culture and hear new stories that I can share with others so we can learn about how we are all connected in this world.
Trek on,
Melissa
