PROJECTS

Children's Heart Project

Children with congenital heart defects are identified by either pediatric cardiologists in Mongolia or when special screenings are held by American doctors. Hospitals in North America review patients' records and chose candidates for surgery. National staff share Christ with the families and are committed to making four visits to the family after the child's surgery. Our goal is to not only mend the broken physical heart but to ultimately lead families to the One who can heal their spiritual heart as well. 148 surgeries have been done thus far with over 80 children on a waiting list.

Outpatient Children's Developmental Center
Samaritan's Purse is working in conjunction with Mongolia Asia Reach to sponsor a outpatient center for developmentally handicapped children living in rural areas. Physical therapy is uncommon in Mongolia. This project teaches parents how to do exercises and learning activities at home so the child's quality of life can improve. Children are brought from the countryside to the center for an evaluation and training. Their progress is then monitored by staff on an outpatient basis. The Gospel message is shared with patients and their families throughout the duration of their stay and also during the follow-up visits. This project has helped 50 children and their families.

Claim a County
This project, conducted in partnership with VET Net, reaches out to children of herding families who sometimes have limited access to education because of their lifestyle. The goal is to provide continuing education classes for teachers and administrators and well as raise literacy among herding children. Classes such as math, English, reading, writing, chemistry, and computers are taught during the summer. Crafts and sport activities are also arranged for the children. The Gospel is shared with the families, students, teachers, and administrators. More than 175 children have benefited from the program.

Kids Club
These clubs are designed to provide constructive after-school activities for children living in the Ger districts of Ulaanbaatar. A weekly meeting is held at a Christian's home where children participate in games, learning activities, and listen to Bible stories.

Model Herder Project
Animals are a primary source of livelihood in Mongolia. Nearly half the people in Mongolia raise animals. This project, conducted in partnership with VET Net, helps train veterinarians in modern medicine and provide drugs and equipment to aid them in their practice. There will be 60 model herder sites representing 15,000 herder families as secondary beneficiaries. The goal is to train 87 veterinarians/technicians and have 42 certified clinics with licensed veterinarians.

Doctor Residency Program
Samaritan's Purse works in partnership with Mongolia Asia Reach to sponsor a doctor residency program in Ulaanbaatar. This is an educational project that seeks to help train doctors and improve the health care in Mongolia. Many staff doctors and residents attend a weekly Bible study conducted at the hospital.

A Future without Alcohol
Alcohol addiction is a problem that touches the lives of many Mongolians. This project reaches out to young people affected by alcoholism through education, counseling, and Christian witness. Project staff enter local secondary schools once a week to give presentations about the far-reaching effects of alcohol abuse. Students are then invited to an after-school center where they can receive counseling, enjoy fellowship and community, and hear about hope in Christ.

Backpacks of Hope
Poor families in the rural parts of Mongolia struggle to send their children to school because they cannot afford the uniforms, books, and necessary school supplies. Samaritan's Purse is working with local churches to identify families living in extreme poverty whose children would not be able to attend school without help. Backpacks, uniforms, gym clothes, school supplies, and other items are provided, and connections to the church are established. Samaritan's Purse has helped over 300 children in two of Mongolia's remote provinces through this project.

Kindergarten Relief
In the spring of this year, a severe storm destroyed the roof of a kindergarten in one of Mongolia's remote provinces. Samaritan's Purse is working with local churches to replace the roof, making the structure usable to community for the fall. Our hope is that a church will also be planted through this project.

A Healthy Start
The Healthy Start Program supports the healthy development of newborns and infants through nutrition interventions. Many children are born suffering from micro-nutrient deficiencies than can cause a variety of health concerns and developmental problems. The program targets pregnant mothers for nutrition education, awareness, and nutritional supplementation. These services are offered through local health professionals in both hospitals and family healthcare clinics. Samaritan’s Purse helps to equip these health facilities with the capability to deliver practical education to new and expecting mothers through pregnancy and provides micronutrient supplementation for each mom. Volunteers are mobilized to provide follow-up work. To date, the program has been extended through the MCH hospital in Ulaanbataar and through family healthcare clinics in Sainshand, Dornigobi aimag.