Alumni Spotlight
Fulbright Student Returns with Mongolia’s First Seeing Eye Dog
When Uyanga E. walks down the street, she draws stares from nearly every passerby. It is not the fact that she is blind that surprises them, but rather the dog at her side. This past summer Uyanga returned from the United States with Mongolia's very first Seeing Eye Guide Dog.
Uyanga, who started losing her sight at age 4, left Mongolia for the first time at age 23 to attend graduate school at Louisiana State University as a Fulbright Visiting Student. She earned her Bachelor's Degree at one of Mongolia's best universities, thanks to her family members and friends who helped her to read and write her assignments. While at LSU, Uyanga met blind Americans who were able to walk around by themselves using a white cane. She had never received any mobility training in Mongolia, but with help from the Louisiana State Rehabilitation Services, she learned how to use a cane and for the first time in her life was able to walk around with confidence by herself.
But Uyanga says that being able to use a cane was just the beginning. Thanks to a retired LSU law professor and Guide Dogs for the Blind (a guide dog training school in San Rafael, California), Uyanga became the proud owner of Gladys, a honey-colored Labrador guide dog. "I cannot fully describe what positive changes Gladys brought to my life that I never thought about or experienced before," Uyanga wrote during her time at LSU. "With a guide dog you are no longer just blind -- you are special. When I walk through the LSU campus with Gladys, I can feel the smiles and love she brings to people's faces and into my life."
Uyanga and Gladys are now bringing smiles to her fellow Mongolian citizens as they walk down the street. Although she says that uninformed owners and staff often prohibit Gladys from entering local establishments, she is working to educate as many people as possible about how canes and guide dogs can help blind people live independent lives. Her ultimate goal is to put her Master's Degree in Library and Information Science to good use by establishing an audio and Braille library in Mongolia. In the meantime, she and Gladys are walking examples of how scholarship and exchange programs can help to change the lives of people around the world.