My quest started when I came to Japan as one of the trainees of this program ten months ago, on August 31, 2010. Japan welcomed me with a warm heart. From the moment I arrived at the airport, I was in a different world, different culture and different language. However, the kindness and friendliness of Japanese people were familiar. From September to December 10, I studied Japanese language, which was part of the program, together with the other trainees. The Japanese language class was full of fun. Because the teachers were professional, their teaching methods were very different from those in Mongolia, and with a lot of fun we studied Japanese based on the textbook “Minnano Nihonngo 1". Also, I do like learning languages. The Japanese and Mongolian languages have many things in common in the linguistic sense. These two factors helped me a lot with learning Japanese.

We tried many sports for the first time. For instance, I practiced swimming for three months, did rock climbing in November and went skiing in January. In addition, in the months of May and June a many-time champion of Japan taught me sound table tennis. These were wonderful moments.

For me it was like a dream to stay in the home of a Japanese family. And the dream came true. When I entered the house of the Ikezawas, a beautiful tune of the violin and the piano welcomed me. My two Japanese sisters were small but big musicians. Although I couldn't communicate very easily in Japanese, by speaking in the language of classical music and feeling the warmth of home, I spent an unforgettable New Year of 2010-2011.

Finding what we are searching for is not an easy task. It requires a long period of time and a lot of hard work. During the program of group training in December 2010, and of individual training from January through to May 2011, I visited and got introduced to many places, from institutes to IL centers, from governmental organizations to non-governmental ones, and from special schools to universities, meeting many people with different disabilities, in cities like Osaka, Tokyo, Fujisawa, and Hamamatsu—in order to get to know and understand the current situation of the movement of PWDs, and I learnt so much from all of these. It was wonderful that most cities of Japan including Tokyo and Osaka were barrier-free; employees of train stations and everyone in the street were willing to help. Besides, I could clearly feel, from many things, how much convenience and possibility Japan has created for the visually impaired like myself to live independently. All these triggered inside me the thoughts about how many efforts the Japanese PWDs and leaders have made and how long they have run such movements.

My individual training program, which, as I mentioned before, lasted five months between January and May of 2011, took place in five different places – Koyukai, DPI-Japan, WITH, Nippon lighthouse-ICCB, ATDO – in long and short terms. In all these places they welcomed me with warmth, helped with full heart and made incredible efforts to arrange best training environment. During this time, which seemed long but passed very fast, I tried to exert my efforts and not to lose any single moment. The Japanese who I met are wonderful people. We became good friends and shared really unforgettable moments.

Meanwhile, without my awareness I gradually became immersed in Japanese culture, customs and way of thinking via my friends moment by moment. Japan and my Japanese friends have become very close and valuable for me.

Having no experience and knowledge whatsoever about earthquakes and tsunami, I was together with a Japanese family when the strongest earthquake and tsunami in the past 1000 years hit Japan and the whole land trembled. The entire country of Japan cared for their brothers and sisters who were victims of the terrifying disaster, which happened in the coastal areas of north-east, and who were in difficult conditions due to the damage of the nuclear reactors, and made all their efforts to help them recover normal lives; I felt this heart of love pounding in all Japanese people through many things among the family in Kyoto with whom I was staying. I felt that the world is one huge family like the Takeshita family, and Mongolia and Japan are two brothers. Every day we were praying together from the bottom of our hearts, “May God bless Japan!”

I was afraid now that I had finished 70 percent of the training and I might be going back without finding what I was searching for. Right then, DAISY training started and I found what I was searching for the sake of Mongolian PWDs, visually impaired people and for myself. That thing is DAISY. Anyway, I managed to learn DAISY quickly, and made some DAISY books, such as “Basic facts regarding radiation exposure resulting from the nuclear plant accident caused by the ‘Tohoku’ area earthquake".

Although it took a lot of time and work to make this DAISY book, after finishing and uploading it on the Internet I felt satisfied with the hope that I could contribute a little thing to my Japanese brothers using the knowledge that I have learnt here.

All in all, I found what I was looking for. In this wide path of the quest, I found more than I expected to.

While living in Japanese culture among Japanese people, in the society where everyone lives with equality regardless of their ability or disability, studying for ten months together with the other trainee friends who came from seven countries in Asia, meeting with people with other disabilities, every day I found new things. The biggest thing I found is the friends, who will be my good friends forever.

I reached the end of the path of this quest, and a more difficult path, into which I will fulfill what I found here, is starting.

I want to put into practice what I have learnt in Japan joining my Japanese friends in their efforts. I want to make it barrier-free everywhere in Mongolia, to make accessible any information in Mongolian language, and to develop a society where everybody lives in peace and with equality.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the staff members of Duskin Ainowa Foundation, to all the staff members of JSRPD, Koyukai, DPI-Japan, WITH, Nippon lighthouse-ICCB, and ATDO. Also I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all of my Japanese brothers, who supported me during my training. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.

May God bless Japan. May God bless all of you …