The team, back row, from left: Ann Dove, David Agnes, Norman McClure, Terry Noel, Sue Agnes; front row, from left: John Vautier, Carrie Cooper and Ian Brown

THE first Jersey Overseas Aid team of the year have arrived in Mongolia to help build a new Kindergarten in the Ger district.

The team, who are based in Erdenet and are staying in a Mongolian tent for a month, are working with Father Manu, a Catholic priest, and Jilly Spruyt, who is originally from Jersey but helps street children in the capital of Ulaanbaatar and Erdenet.

Team leader Ian Brown, who has been a member of the JOA sub-committee since 1992, has been looking forward to his eighth trip.

‘I have been involved with Jersey Overseas Aid since 1987, when I was a member on a trip to Kisumu, Kenya, where I worked in the shanty town building a community centre,’ he said.

Ian has been involved in eight trips: Calcutta, 1989; Zambia, 1991; Kisumu, 1992; Malawi, 1994; British Guyana, 2002; Sumatra, 2006; and Uganda, 2001, and was the team leader on seven of them.

The deputy head teacher at Mont Nicolle School, he has been sharing his JOA experiences with the children at the school. ‘I feel it is very important to pass on all these experiences to the children I teach and make them understand what the world is like outside our Island,’ he said.

A couple of weeks ago, the Year Six class at Mont Nicolle raised around £500 for the Mongolia trip by holding a school pyjamas day.

The team itself has raised nearly £5,000 to help with materials and will return to the Island on 20 June.

Ian added: ‘Temperatures are expected to be below freezing at night, so lots of layers and a sense of humour is essential.’