Last winter, the temperatures in Bayantes and Tes soums of Zavkhan Province, for example, were as cold as -51C at night and -38C during the day, with snow measuring 40-50 cm in depth. Thousands of livestock deaths affected around 70 percent of Mongolia’s territory. In times of dzud, herders spend most of their income on buying fodder and hay for their animals and moving their herds to places with better grazing opportunities. As a result, herders often do not have enough money left to spend on their children’s education and daily necessities. Heavy snowfall can lead to road closures, preventing herders from visiting their children in school dormitories and bringing them items they need.
Assessments of rural areas have shown that children from big families, children from low-income families, and orphaned or semi-orphaned children are particularly vulnerable. Additionally, herders’ children living in soum dormitories, far away from their families, are suffering from the side effects of dzud. We determined they missed basic items, such as personal hygiene articles, warm shoes, and blankets. SDC decided to implement a humanitarian assistance programme in 15 soums of Khovd, Zavkhan, and Gobi-Altai provinces. Through Save the Children and the Mongolian Red Cross Society, with 90,000 CHF, we reached out to around 500 herder households and more than 1,300 children in dormitories. In nine Mongolian provinces, we supported them with supplementary food, hygiene kits, heat-tech winter boots, warm blankets, mattresses, and bed linens, as they had not been changed in 4-8 years, becoming worn out and no longer retaining heat.
Dormitories received education kits and additional food supplies
Children of herders spend around nine months of the year in dormitories. This is quite a long time, including long, dark winter evenings. A dormitory is like a second home for these children. Therefore, it is important to make dormitories warm and comfortable and ensure they are supplied with items promoting children’s self-development and the good use of their leisure time. Through the assistance programme, some of the dormitories in Khovd, Zavkhan, and Gobi-Altai were supplied with books and game kits. Additional small funds were part of the project to enable the dormitories to purchase additional food. Each dormitory was also equipped with a first aid kit to ensure their readiness for medical emergencies.
A message from children in Tes and Bayantes soum, after receiving hygiene kits…
Let’s talk about the Tes soum secondary school in Zavkhan Province. Here, 83 children live in the school dormitory, and all of them received hygiene kits. T. Renchinsambuu, T. Sainsambuu, D. Tuvshinbat, and D. Munkh-Erdene told us: We were running out of hygiene supplies. The hygiene kits, which included soap, a towel, a toothbrush, and toothpaste, were very useful. They came just at the right moment and helped us solve our most urgent problems.
The 56 students at the secondary school dormitory in neighbouring Bayantes soum also received hygiene kits. One of the children’s parents, Sh. Tuya, shared the following thoughts with us: I was very glad to watch our children. They went into their dormitory rooms, happy to unpack their hygiene kits. Three of my children live in this dormitory. We have to spend money to buy hygiene products for our home and our children living in the dormitory. Sometimes, it is not easy for us to cover it. It is quite a burden for our family budget, especially during this last dzud. With this support, we could overcome a financial crisis this winter. Let us hope this New Year will bring a better time, enough rain during the year, and a milder winter. For more information, please visit the Save the Children webpage.
