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Heart for Mongolia: 2024 Impact Report
Dear Supporters,
2024 has been an incredible year for Heart for Mongolia, and it’s all thanks to you, our wonderful donors and volunteers!
On behalf of the nomads in Western Mongolia, we want to express our deepest gratitude. Your support has fueled amazing achievements, changing lives and strengthening communities. Different tribe elders asked us to forward their most sincere gratitude to you.
As we are planning and organizing our next projects for 2025, we would like to take a moment and proudly share with you the highlights from last year:
1. Comfortable Beds for Boarding School Kids
Through a wildly successful social media campaign (we raised more than $7000, thank you!!), we managed to replace ALL the old, thin, and dirty mattresses at the boarding school in Altai Sum. 170 children can now enjoy brand-new, clean mattresses, warm blankets, pillows, and fresh sheets! It wasn’t easy—our first truck broke down, and local supporters stepped in to help—but we got it done. Providing the children, who spend 9 months a year away from their families, with a much-needed comfortable place to sleep.
2. Greenhouse Success
A team of dedicated volunteers from Holland helped construct a greenhouse near Ulaankhus, enabling a disadvantaged family to grow fresh vegetables throughout the summer and autumn. This initiative builds on the success of previous greenhouses, some of which produce up to 200 kg of cucumbers annually!, alongside other crops like tomatoes, onions, and potatoes. Each greenhouse project includes a two-year support program, providing seed supplies and guidance from experienced gardeners to ensure success. These greenhouses benefit not just the selected family (chosen by a board of local elders), but also the surrounding community, as surplus produce is shared, spreading the impact even further.
A big thank you to Corrine, Ingeborg, Leona and Pascalle!
3. Animal Shelter for Nomads
A second (international) team constructed a large animal shelter near the Chinese border for a nomad family who had lost much of their livestock during a harsh dzuud (extreme winter). Built using local rock and mud, with imported wood from faraway places, the shelter provides a safe haven for their animals—especially vulnerable newborn lambs and calves—during freezing temperatures that can plunge as low as -30°C in spring and even further in winter.
Working side by side with the family and a skilled local carpenter fostered lasting friendships and unforgettable memories for everyone involved. Most importantly, the nomad family now has a sturdy and reliable shelter that will protect their animals for many years to come. A heartfelt thanks to Annebel, Eliza, Esther, Evy, Gerda and Lotta!
4. Life-Changing Surgery for Tlèk
We funded a life-changing operation for a young boy named Tlèk, who was born with a cleft palate in a remote Altai Valley. His parents, with no access to medical care or extra income opportunities, were overwhelmed with the challenge. Thanks to your donations, we covered the two-day journey to the city and the surgical costs. Now Tlèk has an even more radiant smile and a much brighter future ahead—because of you!
5. Extra Essentials for the Boarding School
In addition to the beds, we supplied the boarding school in Altai Sum with:
- A projector and screen for lessons.
- A laptop for the school nurse, who previously had none.
- A freezer for the kitchen, so food stays safe to eat.
- A karaoke set with microphones (for much-needed fun!).
- Five new dombras—their traditional two-string instrument.
Special Thanks
A heartfelt thanks to Lantern Projects and Wilde Ganzen for their unwavering support this year. And of course to all the incredible volunteers that joined us on some very unique journeys. You shared your money, time, and friendship with strangers who have now become family and you will live forever in their memories and gratitude.
Plans for 2025
These successes demonstrate how we can create a significant impact and steadily transform the world into a place of greater equality. Simple things we often take for granted—like a warm bed, clean drinking water, and sufficient food—are unfortunately far from guaranteed in Western Mongolia, so our work is far from over!
In 2025, we aim to continue supporting the school and hospital in Altai Sum, as requests for essential supplies keep pouring in, including: desks, lockers and kitchen equipment.
The local kindergarten has also reached out, showing us how staff still wash everything by hand—often in freezing cold water. To ease their burden, we hope to be able to provide washing machines and other critical items like baby beds, blankets, and toys.
As part of our ongoing response to the challenges of climate change on nomadic life, we will also support two more disadvantaged families in remote areas with animal shelters and greenhouses to help them sustain their livelihoods.
To accomplish these goals, we’ll need to raise approximately $15,000.
How You Can Help
Would you like to join us on an unforgettable journey to Mongolia, meet the nomads, and help build something truly transformative? Or perhaps you’d prefer to support from home by making a donation?
Visit www.heartformongolia.org for more information. Monthly donations, even just a few euros, help us plan ahead and keep our promises.
We promise you this: every single euro reaches the nomad families who need it most. Our ANBI status ensures this and gives Dutch contributors the opportunity to donate tax-free.
Thank you for being part of our journey. Thank you for showing compassion to those facing greater challenges than we do. Together, we are making a profound difference.
With gratitude,
Tamar Valkenier
CEO, Heart for Mongolia
