Mission Manduhai

In August 2010, Circus Manduhai will make an expedition to Mongolia. I will be updating this page often, so please check back soon. 

I am originally from Mongolia, and am now a US citizen living in Minneapolis. When I was in Mongolia I was physically and mentally abused. Even though I was successful in the circus world, my personal life affected me greatly, physically and emotionally. I am still suffering from the abuse of my younger days after many painful and expensive operations to try to reconstruct my jaw and teeth. The story of my abuse is not pretty, but unfortunately it is not a unique one in Mongolia. It is accepted in Mongolia that the men control the women. Often, if the women don’t obey they are beaten.

One in three Mongolian women have been the victim of domestic abuse. Sadly, the problem of abuse worldwide, even here at home. But here in Minnesota, women have access to information through billboards, TV and radio ads, and news programs that make a positive change impact, but where do you turn as a nomadic herder in Mongolia, where there are no neighbors? I wanted to find ways to help in Minnesota as well as Mongolia.

So I created Mission Manduhai. We will travel to the far reaches of Mongolia where there are no billboards, no television, no electricity or running water for that matter. A talented group of circus performers will put on a free show for these nomadic herders, raising awareness during and after our performances about the problem of domestic abuse. Partnering with National Center Against Violence (NCAV) in Mongolia, we will give these nomadic people a strong positive message, information about how women can get out of a dangerous situation, and resources to help them to a better life.

Upon returning to Minnesota, Mission Manduhai will continue its work, promoting awareness through lectures/presentations/performances at local schools and libraries, while continuing to collaborate with Mongolia’s National Center Against Violence with ongoing missions.

12/21/09

Description of the expedition:

I would like to give you an idea about my trip to Mongolia next summer. I am planning a 2-4 week long trip, combining my passion for traditional Mongolian culture and arts with a mission to fight domestic abuse in my home country (I am a survivor of an abusive relationship). I am launching an ambitious expedition to rural Mongolia and the route will take me and my troop to nomadic tribes that have never experienced their country's beloved artistic traditions. There will be no admission fee for these shows; they will be absolutely free. My goal is to use these free performances as an opportunity to talk to individuals about domestic abuse and prevent its continuation. This is the crew I am currently planning on having on the expedition:

American Performers: 7
American Crew: 3
Mongolian Performers: 5
Mongolian Crew: 4

We will do a total of 20-25 shows throughout the Mongolian countryside.
I am planning to do 2 fundraisers before we go to Mongolia to help pay for the cost of operations, performer's food, lodging, and transportation. Each fundraiser will be a performance of my family show Circus Manduhai with music from one of my husband Eron's jazz groups.

Estimated Budget Including:
airline tickets, hotel, food, 2 vans rental, drivers for 2 vans, advance promotion with one auto rental, gas, equipment rental including: generator, sound system, lighting system

Rough estimate of total cost of trip $55,500

Bringing the circus arts to the nomadic people of my homeland is a long time dream and passion of mine, and educating about domestic abuse in Mongolia.

12/23/09
 Check out this link to see a multimedia presentation outlining the problems of domestic abuse in Mongolia, and the political and social hurdles that must be overcome to protect women and children:    

journalism.berkeley.edu/projects/mongolia/

1/3/10

A description of my Mission for my Mongolian friends:

Би 2010 оны 8 дугаар сард өөрийн төрж өссөн нутаг болон Монгол орныхоо зарим сумдаар ялангуяа урлаг соёлоос алслагдмал малчин ард түмэндээ зориулж үнэгүй, сайн санааны урлагийн тоглолт зохион байгуулах гэж байна. Энэ тоглолтоор үндэсний соёл урлагын арга хэмжээ зохион байгуулахын зэрэгцээ хүчирхийлэлийн эсрэг дуу хоолойгоо хүмүүст хүргэх юм. Хүчирхийлэл дарангуйлалийг өөрийн биеэр туулж ирсэний хувьд Монголын охид эмэгтэйчүүдэд хучирхийлэл, дарамттай амьдралын хор уршигийн талаар ярьж,  тэдэнд өөртөө итгэх итгэл, амьдралын утга учир, өөрийгөө хүндлэх, хүндлүүлэх талаар зөвлөж, харилцан ярилцах болно. Энэ ярилцлагын үр дүнд нэг  хүн ч гэсэн гэр бүлийн хүчирхийлэл,  дарамтгүй аз жаргалтай амьдрал хичнээн чухал болохыг ойлгож байвал олон жил мөрөөдөж байсан миний хүсэл мөрөөдөл биелэж, энэ аялалын минь гол зорилго биелэх болно.
 

Та бүхэнд сайн сайхныг хүсэн ерөөе!  

Ум сайн амгалан болтугай!

Халтархүүгийн Эрдэнэчимэг

1/3/10

Good news! I have a tentative date set for a fundraiser at Circus Juventas on April 17th at 5:30 and 7:30pm. I am working with Dan and Betty Butler on the details, a big thank you to CJ for their support!

1/17/10

I connected with a great organization in Mongolia called National Center Against Violence. We are going to work together for this expedition, and in the future. This is their website:

www.safefuture.mn

 2/5/10

Trouble with the website, couldn't edit for three days! All is corrected now. I had an interview with the Southwest Journal on Tuesday. It should be out in a couple weeks.

Update on the April 17th fundraiser: NOTICE-event time changed to TWO SHOWS- 5:30pm and 7:30pm at Circus Juventas. Tickets for these shows will be sold the day of the show only at:

Circus Juventas

1270 Montreal Ave.

St.Paul, MN 55116

651-699-8229

There will be 450 seats available for each show.

 2/8/10

I added some new text at the top of this page explaining who I am and why I am doing it. Working on case statement this week to apply for non-profit status.

2/20/10

Southwest Journal won't publish my interview in their paper (I don't live in the subscription area). Grrr!  We are working on other press.

2/22/10

We have a fiscal agent! Thanks to Pop Wagner and the Heritage and Traditions organization.
If you would like to support my cause, you can now give a tax-deductible donation by check. Please write the check out to "Heritage and Traditions" and be sure to write "Mission Manduhai" on the memo line. Mail to: 

Mission Manduhai

c/o Chimgee Haltarhuu

5509 28h Ave. S.

Minneapolis, MN 55417

Important: The check must be made out to "Heritage and Traditions", and in the memo line must be written "Mission Manduhai".
 

2/28/10

Here is a link to an article written in TC DailyPlanet about my expedition:

www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2010/02/25/acrobatic-advocacy-minneapolis-mongolia

3/7/10

Another article written about me in Star Tribune business section "How I Got That Job":

www.startribune.com/lifestyle/yourmoney/86611267.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

I have been in contact with the Mongolian State Circus and Circus School (where I went to college) through my friend Yanjenbileg. It is looking like we will do a performance in the State Circus building after the tour for the school's 70th anniversary. We will do a free show, with the proceeds going to the Mongolian State Circus School.

Mission Manduhai has had its first donors this week!! If you would like to contribute, please see above (in red) about how to donate.

3/16/10

I was interviewed by the Highland Villager last week and I'm looking forward to seeing the article!

Here is an updated list of American performers for Mission Manduhai 2010 Mongolian Tour:

Chimgee Haltarhuu (See her bio on "Bio" page of this website)

Tamir Bayarsaihan (See his bio on "Bio" page of this website)

Anwar Hassouni (See his bio on"Bio" page of this website)

 Stewart Lippe also known as "Lippi the Juggler" or "Lippo the Clown" (See on Youtube) has performed as a juggler, clown and tight wirewalker in numerous venues throughout the world since the early eighties. Co-founder of the Franzini Family Circus, and with them he has toured the United States, the Far East and Germany for the Department of Defense with stage variety shows.  Stewart, who taught fifth grade has written or co-written educational programs for the Franzini Family Circus that have been performed in many schools, libraries and performing arts centers to the amazement and delight of thousands of elementary school students. In July of 2010 the Franzini Family will once again bring the "Science Circus" to the Smithsonian, Washington D.C. for a limited engagement. Stewart has performed at Busch Gardens in Tampa, FL and Disney World and Sea World in Orlando, FL in addition to various circuses: Barnum and Bailey Thrill Circus, Circus Smirkus, and Circus Nexus. He has performed at numerous corporate events over the years. He assisted in the founding of Circus Smirkus not only performing with that show for a number of years but also worked as choreographer for juggling and wire walking acts. He has done national commercials for Ace Hardware, a Disney promotion for the film Aladdin and has been in two feature films. Stewart founded "The Society for the Preservation of Vaudeville and Variety Arts" a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the narrative and archival histories of Vaudeville and circus performers. In this capacity he has made four documentaries on the performing arts. Also he has worked on five feature films in various capacities ranging from sound recorder to line producer. Stewart has a B.A. from FSU, Tallahassee, FL and a Master of Fine Arts from San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA and currently resides in Tampa, FL with his teenage son.

Alex McKendry is a 23-year-old native of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Alex began gymnastics training around age 12 and entered into the realm of circus arts at age 15. Alex trained with Circus Juventas in St. Paul, MN for 7 years in acts such as Russian Swing, teeterboard, Chinese pole, flying trapeze, Russian bar, 3-man hand balancing and jump rope. During his time at Circus Juventas, Alex trained under Chimgee Haltarhuu . Alex is currently a member Xelias Aerial Art’s Circus, which is based in Minneapolis, MN. Alex is excited to be a part of Chimgee’s endeavors.

Eric McKendry is twenty years old and is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has been doing gymnastics and circus for about ten years. He started at Tags Gymnastics for two years switched to Circus Juventas for six years and is now with Circus Xelias. He has performed flying trapeze, hand balancing, jump rope, Russian swing, wall trampoline, teeterboard, Chinese pole and acrobatics. He has been fortunate to train with many great coaches and is looking forward to going to Mongolia with his coach, Chimgee Haltarhuu. He is a part time student at Minneapolis Community Technical College.

Marissa Dorschner has been training and performing with Circus Juventas for over eleven years. She recently performed in her final show with Circus Juventas, YuLong, and is continuing her involvement in the program as an associate coach. At Circus Juventas, Marissa has studied the aerial arts, including silks, hoops, triangle trapeze, and flying trapeze. She is also studying at the University of Minnesota and is working towards a Minnesota teaching license as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. Marissa is excited to continue training and performing in silks and body balancing as well as starting a career in elementary education!

Sarah Butler is from St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a third year student at the University of Minnesota, studying Anthropology and Spanish. She was a gymnast for ten years, and has performed with Circus Juventas for the past 15 years. Over the years Sarah has performed cloud swing, teeter-board, swinging trapeze, bungee trapeze, flying trapeze, hand balancing, jump rope, and teeter-board. In the last few years she has specialized in silks and the double cloud swing. With Circus Juventas Sarah has performed for the American Cancer Society, Smile Network, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Ordway Theater, as well as traveling to Tennessee and South Dakota for performances. In October of 2008, Sarah was invited along with her partner Alex and her coach Chimgee Haltarhuu to perform double cloud swing in Latina, Italy for the International Circus Festival. Her act made it to the top 12 finale performance. Sarah also coaches beginning cloud swing at Circus Juventas.

3/25/10

Thanks to Sue Amidon and Amidon Graphics for printing the post cards for my fundraiser! Here is their website:  amidongraphics.com

The upcoming Highland Villager (3/31) newspaper will have an article about Mission Manduhai.

On Sunday (3/28) Circus Manduhai will audition for "America's Got Talent". (They called me two weeks ago to come and audition.) Hopefully I will get on so I can reach a large audience to speak about Mission Manduhai.

We are still desperately trying to find some cheaper airline tickets. Any ideas?

4/4/10

This week Eron set up Mission Manduhai as a "Cause" on Facebook. Please look us up and join our cause, and invite your friends to join. We are getting ready for the big fundraising event on April 17th.

4/21/10

We had a great turnout to our fundraiser on Saturday! We were able to raise $8,488 for Mission Manduhai. We are still very far short of our needed funds, but it is a good start. Many thanks to Circus Juventas for their sponsorship of the event, and to all of the performers and volunteers who worked so hard to make the show a great success.

4/30/10

Here is the article from the Highland Villager March 31,2010 edition in PDF form:

I am in contact with my assistant in Mongolia and we are working the exact tour rout. Eron and I have sent out some grant proposals to try and get some more funding.

6/21/10

Mission Manduhai fundraiser:

June 27th 4pm Xelias Aerial Arts

www.watchhumansfly.com

Mission Manduhai fundraiser:

July 25 6pm Artists' Quarter

Bon Voyage party

 7/30/10

We have completed our fundraisers, and are now focused on preparing for the tour! We have raised $16,840 to date. We are so happy and excited that we were able to do this well in the time we had. However, we are still severely short of our goal of $54,000.

I have been working hard to make this tour work on a smaller budget. My husband Eron has contributed $6,000 to pay for three airline tickets (his, mine, and Tamir's) and to help pay for travel expenses. I have been working hard, putting in extra hours at Circus Juventas and many shows with Circus Manduhai so I have money saved up to cover any unforseen costs. I have also been getting help from family and friends in Mongolia, finding ways to keep expenses down. Ten days to go!!!!