Summer Encampment of Dukha Reindeer Herders (August 8)
Ever since my first trip to Mongolia in 1994 when I learned there were reindeer herders with shamans in tepees in the north, near Tuva, near Russian Siberia, I wanted to visit them but not as a tourist. Dan Plumley with the Totem Project and Cultural Survival in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been helping the group for 6 years, finding out what the herders need for their survival. In 2003, Dan invited me to travel with him and assess the health care needs and practices of the Dukha reindeer herders through the eyes of a Western trained RN and a person who has studied traditional Mongolian Medicine.
My first chilly trip to the taiga (alpine forest) with Dan was in October of 2003, when I interviewed men and women separately, documenting their health problems and concerns. I shared the information with various non-governmental organizations in Mongolia and with others including a local doctor. He suggested that one manageable problem was bleeding gums from scurvy, due to Vitamin C deficiency. Another problem was blindness due to Vitamin A deficiency. With the help of Ecologia's Virtual Foundation, we presented the need to donors. The Mongolian American Cultural Association in New Jersey and others donated funds so that we could take one-year's supply of multivitamins to Dukha kids and one-year's supply of Vitamin C crystals to adults. There are 207 nomadic Dukha reindeer herders in Mongolia.
In the summer of 2004, Dan I carried the 100 pounds of vitamins in our luggage to the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. Then we had to get them to the taiga. This required three days of jogging, swaying, bumping in a Russian Forgon van to the closest county seat, Tsaagan Nuur. Next we had to ride horses eight hours to an encampment in the West Taiga.
We, along with the vitamins, arrived safely at the encampment. Tucked into the ridge of a mountain, there were hundreds of quiet and gentle reindeer beside 15 tepees. Dukha Reindeer Herders are one of Mongolia's smallest ethnic groups. Their relatives live in the small country of Tuva, across a closed border. Like other former Soviet countries, Mongolia struggles with poverty as it changes to a market economy. This makes it is a place where a small amount of American money and time can go a long way toward helping.
The herders and I sat on the ground. My host, Otgonbayar, read a vitamin instruction sheet translated into Mongolian. One family at a time received their vitamins packed in recycled water bottles. When accepting the vitamins, one Dukha mother spoke for all, "Thank you for listening to us last year when we told you our health problems. We realize how hard the travel was to bring us the vitamins and we really appreciate an older person from another country caring enough to help us."
In 2006, we delivered Vitamin C to all Dukha nomadic reindeer herders, took a health survey and delivered medical supplies. We began collaborating with the doctor of the closest rural hospital and the Mongolian Ministry of Health. In 2007, we will continue to assess Dukha health care needs and oversee delivery of goods such as vitamins, first aid supplies and services directly to nomads, coordinating with the rural hospital and Ministry of Health.
All projects are possible because of the generous donations of people who want to help. Both The Virtual Foundation in Whiting, VT and The Center for Northern Studies at Sterling College in Craftsbury, VT work with us so that all donations are tax-deductible.