While attending the Quilt Market in Pittsburgh last month I ran into Maggie Ball. I introduced Maggie in this newsletter several years ago. She was working with some Mongolian quilters, trying to help them find a place to sew so they could sell their projects to make money for their families. At the time, they were temporarily working in a substandard building in a very small space. Maggie brought me up to date with what has happened since that time through e-mail upon her return from Pittsburgh. The really exciting news is that Quilters Without Borders has successfully raised $80,000 and purchased a permanent facility in Ulaanbaatar for the Mongolian Quilting Center. This ground-floor apartment has a shop front, classroom and office. It is located on a Seoul Street, opposite the Mongolian Barbeque restaurant, just 10 minutes walk from the heart of Ulaanbaatar and easy for the women to reach using public transport. Maggie Ball will be returning to Mongolia in July to visit the new Center, to teach and provide support to assist the women in their goal of becoming self-sustaining.

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