Holt team member Jordan Love shares photos and highlights from Holt’s recent vision trip to Mongolia!
This past October, a dedicated group of Holt supporters traveled to Mongolia to visit Holt’s various family strengthening and child-focused programs.
Holt staff and eight dedicated donors — including Holt board member Linda Voelsch — participated in this transformative weeklong trip to learn more about Holt’s work in Mongolia. From the moment the group met at the hotel in Ulaanbaatar, the anticipation for this week was high. By the end of the week, the common theme was our shared love for the Mongolian people, their culture and the transformative stories we will hold onto for the rest of our lives.
The trip started with us visiting some of our established programs like the Red Stone School, an informal school that provides resources to vulnerable children whose families live in the community surrounding Ulaanbaatar’s largest dump. Before the Red Stone School opened, many of the children would work alongside their parents in the dump — searching for food or items they could sell. With the support of Holt donors, children at Red Stone are able to follow their educational journey with the hope of reintegrating into the public school system.
We were also able to visit the Joyful Palace, a program that was recently launched through the major gift of a Holt donor, providing holistic support to children with disabilities and their families, as well as a new program that Holt is partnering with called the Princess Center. Through this program, young single mothers receive help with every aspect of motherhood with an emphasis on providing resources that will empower them to have a successful life and provide for their children. The Princess Center is the only NGO providing critical support (baby supplies, counseling services, educational and occupational support, etc.) to young women in Mongolia. — a country where single mothers are often stigmatized and shunned by their communities. By partnering with this organization, and with the generous support of Holt donors, our team in Mongolia aims to expand these crucial services to young mothers.
Much of our trip was spent in northern Mongolia, in the Khusvgal Province, where herding families continue a traditional way of life but often struggle to provide for their children — especially if they don’t have their own herd of livestock. While visiting this beautiful province, we were invited to learn more about the impact Holt donors provide to this community through our family strengthening programs. During our short visit, we had the privilege of presenting life-changing gifts to two families with essential support from our vision trip team. We first presented a ger — a traditional Mongolian home — to a single mother and her three children, which will allow them to stay warm and safe for many years to come. Another family received two new cows and two calves, which will give them income to meet the needs of their family and provide essential nutrition for their children.
We had the honor to be a part of the dedication ceremonies with local government officials for the ger and livestock, while also extending our visits by participating in shared meals and learning cultural customs from the families. We were also fortunate to be reunited with a family that received a flock of sheep and goats from our previous Holt vision trip to Mongolia in 2024. This gift was to support the family with a long-term goal of helping them become self-sufficient with their own herd of livestock. In only a year, the family was able to double their herd. During our visit, the father expressed gratitude for the opportunity given to his family for independence.
“I am reminded of the words shared by Holt’s social worker who was raised in the Khuvsgal province —‘Behind the smiles of the families are tears, sleepless nights and hunger.’ We were told that the families enjoyed our presence and the joy and laughter that we brought to them. They brought much more to us, and our smiles and laughter needed no interpretation.” — Mary Buckley, Holt donor & vision trip participant
Throughout each of these experiences, the resounding and repeated daily recap from our donors was how impactful it was for them to hear and see first-hand the tangible difference their support is making in the lives of these families. They also shared how they will cherish and remember these experiences for the rest of their lives.
Mary Buckley, a longtime supporter, advocate and Holt adoptive parent, summed it up nicely. “This was my fourth vision trip to Mongolia, and I have seen Holt’s programs in five countries,” she shared. “This trip was exceptional because much of our time spent in the northern province of Khuvsgal gave us a picture of traditional nomadic life. Being able to spend quality time with families and local officials, seeing their herds, traditional dress and daily life, playing a traditional game, listening to a young poet, and sharing meals together made this trip, more than any other, a meaningful blend of traditional Mongolian culture and the opportunity to see Holt’s work in communities untouched by the busy-ness of city life. I am reminded of the words shared by Holt’s social worker who was raised in the Khuvsgal province — ‘Behind the smiles of the families are tears, sleepless nights and hunger.’ We were told that the families enjoyed our presence and the joy and laughter that we brought to them. They brought much more to us, and our smiles and laughter needed no interpretation.”
Linda Voelsch, Holt board member, shared of her experience, “What a delight to experience the nomadic lifestyle in northern Mongolia! Holt’s services help families to preserve the nomadic lifestyle and the family structure — both extremely important in this very family-centered country.”
As I write this blog, I hope it gives you a glimpse of how your generosity is providing hope and a bright future to those you support. We have some amazing upcoming opportunities to travel with a Holt vision trip team to see our programs in the countries we support. If interested, visit our travel page or send me an email at jordanl@holtinternational.org about your interest.
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