Many children in Mongolia are facing winter without the essentials they need to stay warm — and without them, many can’t attend school at all. But you can help ensure a child has the warm coats, shoes, blankets and other basics they need to stay safe and survive the cold.
Whether a child shivers at night with a thin sheet in Cambodia or walks to school in a threadbare sweatshirt in China, children around the world suffer when temperatures drop. But in Mongolia, the cold is especially dangerous.
Children are facing sub-zero temperatures without the warm clothing they need to survive. Parents face an impossible choice: keep children home to protect them from the cold or send them to school and risk frostbite or illness like hypothermia.
Cold Weather Survival in Mongolia
Winter in Mongolia can be brutally cold, with icy winds that whip off the Siberian Plain and nighttime temperatures that frequently drop below -20°F — sometimes even reaching -40. For families already stretched thin, this cold can be life threatening.
“For a child in Mongolia, protection from the cold is more than about comfort. It is about survival,” says Paul Kim, Holt’s program director for Mongolia. “For these children, a warm coat keeps them safe while dragging home a cart of water, embraces them with comfort while they are doing their homework and enables them to help with their family’s daily needs. It is a necessity that tragically not every child is able to have.”
For many families, providing anything warmer than a thin jacket simply isn’t possible. Without warm clothing, children risk missing school, falling ill or suffering frostbite.
When children aren’t in school, they lose the opportunity to learn, grow and eventually break the cycle of poverty. Education is one of the strongest predictors of a child’s future stability. But without something as simple as a warm coat, that future can slip out of reach.
Little Protection from the Cold
For many families, even keeping their homes warm enough to be livable is impossible.
“For many of these children’s families, keeping the heating lit during the day is a luxury they cannot afford,” Paul explains. “Whether it be under a stairwell, within a homemade shack or a rundown ger, the difference in the temperature may only be a matter of a few degrees inside and out.”
Imagine waking up to ice forming on the inside walls of your home. Many children lay awake at night, shivering without a warm blanket. Even when they do make it to school, they often struggle to focus in class — sometimes even falling asleep after spending the night awake in the cold.
“Here at home, we are blessed in that a warm coat is sometimes more about fashion than it is about insulation,” Paul says. “But for a child living in an impoverished community in Mongolia, where daytime temperatures in the winter are barely above freezing during the day and can dip to -40°F at night, a warm coat can mean the difference between living and suffering.”
“For a child living in an impoverished community in Mongolia … a warm coat can mean the difference between living and suffering.”
Regardless of where they are born, every child deserves to be safe, healthy and warm. That’s why Holt donors step in to provide coats, shoes and blankets to children in need around the world.
When children finally receive these essentials, the change in their daily lives is immediate and profound.
The Impact of Warm Clothes
On a recent vision trip to Mongolia, Holt donor and board member Linda Voelsch had the opportunity to share the gift of warm clothing with her sponsored children. She shares:
“During my recent visit to Mongolia with Holt’s vision trip, I had the privilege of meeting with the two young girls that I have been sponsoring for the last two years.
It was unseasonably cold last October, with temperatures often dipping well below freezing. Putting on my winter coat, hat, mittens and scarf to brave the cold each morning brought to light a certain truth — it was only October and the weather would only get much colder as the months progressed into winter.
I stayed an extra day to have time to go shopping for winter gear for my girls so they would be well-equipped to face the winter season. Before we left for the stores, the staff had carefully researched sizes so I could purchase what would fit each girl.
With staff along to navigate the stores and translate for me, I had the privilege and delight of buying coats, hats, gloves, jeans, leggings — and some art supplies for fun — for my two girls. When we got to the center where they both live, they opened every package and tried everything on immediately with lots of smiles and giggles!
The visit was a great reminder that our support goes beyond material gifts — it reinforces the importance of providing both practical aid and emotional encouragement as they grow into young women and pursue their dreams — in cute, warm coats and hats.”
Children are Waiting for Help in Mongolia
Right now, children urgently need three essential items. They need blankets to keep them warm at night, a warm coat to put on when they go outside and sturdy shoes to keep their tiny feet dry.
Just $61 gives a child a full Winter Rescue Pack:
- $32 for a winter coat
- $20 for a warm blanket
- $9 for a pair of shoes
Your gift today can keep a child warm, safe and healthy this winter — and help ensure they don’t fall behind in school.
Will you provide the essentials to keep a child warm today?
Protect a Child from the Winter Chill
Your gift of a Winter Rescue Pack will keep a child warm, no matter how cold it gets.
