The Board Members of Save the Children Korea pay a visit to Mongolia

(Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – August 22, 2024) Save the Children in Mongolia aims to collaborate with other Save the Children offices around the world in various development areas. Board Members of Save the Children Korea led by Mr Oh Joon, the Chair, visited Mongolia from August 18 to 23, 2024.

During their visit, the delegation met with the senior management team and staff members of Save the Children in Mongolia to learn about the current strategies and plans of the organization. They also engaged with beneficiaries of the “Entrepreneurship-focused Socioemotional Skills for the Most Vulnerable Youth in Rural Mongolia” and “Promoting Inclusive Education for Every Last Child in Mongolia” projects. The delegation also met herders, local authorities, and communities affected by the Dzud disaster to discuss the impacts of climate change.     

L.Bayan-Altai, the Country Manager and Representative of Save the Children in Mongolia said, “Mongolia and Korea have long-lasting friendly relationship in different areas of development. Nowadays, economic, social and interpersonal relations between the two countries are developing at a high level. I am thrilled that a team led by the Chairman of the Board of Save the Children Korea is visiting our country to get acquainted with our programs and projects. I am confident that this will be the foundation of long-term partnership between our two organizations”.

The Chairman of the Board of Save the Children Korea, Mr. Oh Joon emphasized, “We share the same goal to make lasting changes in the lives of children. Save the Children Korea’s priorities include humanitarian assistance and climate action. Climate change is affecting the livelihoods of local people in Mongolia, so we are exploring opportunities to work together in this area”.

 

On August 19, 2024, the board members of Save the Children Korea visited the 37th general secondary school to get acquainted with the results of the “Promoting Inclusive Education for Every Last Child in Mongolia” project implemented by Save the Children Mongolia from 2021 to 2024. The delegates engaged into discussions with school principal, teachers and children about their experiences with inclusive learning activities, results of using specific and individual approaches of working with children with special educational needs, and the activities of the “Child Development Hall.” The guests also enjoyed art performances conducted by the school children.

On the same day, Save the Children Korea’s Board members paid visit to the General Authority of Child and Family Development and Protection and met with senior leadership team to learn about the current situation, achievements, and challenges in child protection sector. T.Ikhtamir, the head of the agency, stated that they are prioritizing the implementation of the Law on Child Protection, amended in 2024 and be effective from January 1, 2025, onwards. This includes preparing human resources for a new position of social workers in charge of child and family at the grassroots levels. She also noted the importance of introducing international methodologies for updating the database of children at risk, to empower psychologists at the Child and Family Development and Protection Centers, and to improve the environment of those centers.

Also, the delegates visited a family, affected by Flood disaster of 2023 in Bayanzurkh district in Ulaanbaatar. Save the Children in Mongolia implemented a humanitarian project to assist families and children, one of the donors of which was the Save the Children Korea.

Further, Save the Children Korea’s Board members embarked on a field trip in Uvurkhangai province in August 20-22, 2024, to get closer insights to the “Entrepreneurship-focused Socioemotional Skills for the Most Vulnerable Youth in Rural Mongolia” project and visit a herder family in Khujirt Soum to understand real impact of climate crises on their livelihood. This was one of 810 herder families, benefitted from the humanitarian assistance project executed by Save the Children in Mongolia in February-March 2024 in Uvs, Zavkhan, Uvurkhangai, Gobi-Altai, and Sukhbaatar provinces after harsh winter conditions affected thousands of herders in Mongolia.