How two girls with disabilities overcame malnutrition thanks to Holt’s Child Nutrition Program in Mongolia – and donors to Food Every Day, Holt’s new community of monthly donors committed to ending global child hunger!
In September 2024, Nomin started school at a kindergarten for children with disabilities that Holt supports in Mongolia. Nomin is blind, and at the time she arrived she struggled with feeding issues.
“She had a poor appetite, was very weak, entirely dependent on caretakers, and unable to feed herself,” says Arvaikheer, the kindergarten’s pediatrician.
Although the tie between feeding issues and vision impairment is not immediately obvious, it’s understandable when you think about it — and not uncommon. Children with vision impairment can struggle with sensory sensitivities and food aversions. They can become overwhelmed by the touch and feel of foods, preferring some over others. They may avoid foods, have difficulty with certain textures due to delayed oral motor skills or experience spatial awareness issues, making it difficult to maintain or locate foods and feed themselves, an important life skill.
Thankfully, long before Nomin started kindergarten, her caregivers had received training from Holt’s Child Nutrition Program (CNP) team in Mongolia – and knew just how to help her.
With funding from sponsors and donors, Holt’s team in Mongolia trained the caregivers at the kindergarten on proper feeding techniques for children with different disabilities and medical needs. They taught them how to position children with disabilities so they wouldn’t choke on their food. Caregivers learned the importance of adapting food textures to support safe swallowing. They learned about diet, how to screen children for malnutrition, how to test for anemia, and how to track children’s growth to ensure they were receiving the nutrition they need to grow.
Applying this knowledge to Nomin, they helped her learn how to feed herself and confidently explore and embrace a greater variety of foods.
“In the beginning, the teachers helped her and fed her. But now she is a good eater and likes all veggies, can feed herself with a spoon and interacts well with her teachers,” says Arvaikheer. With encouragement from her teachers, she is also more confident and has a greater awareness of her surroundings. Nomin has made incredible strides, thanks to her caregivers, Holt’s CNP team and Holt sponsors and donors!
A Healthier, More Diverse Diet
Khulan started kindergarten in the same class and year as Nomin. When she first arrived, she didn’t engage much with her surroundings and had weak response to teachers. She has Down syndrome, and like many children with Down syndrome, she also faced challenges with nutrition and feeding.
For infants and young children with Down syndrome, “having low muscle tone can be a challenge, making it difficult to suck or keep food or liquid in their mouths,” explains Emily DeLacey, Holt’s director of nutrition and health services. “They also can have poor coordination of swallowing, increasing the risk of aspiration (or inhaling liquid into their lungs…). They also fatigue quickly when eating, which can lead to a child being underweight due to inadequate food intake during meals.”
Khulan needed help to strengthen her ability to independently feed herself. But she also faced a challenge that many parents and caregivers face — regardless of whether their children have special needs. Khulan was a picky eater.
“[She] did not like soup or porridge, wanted fried food, and could not eat any vegetables,” says Arvaikheer.
The caregivers at the kindergarten consistently worked with Khulan to improve her feeding skills and also helped her try new foods, like fruits and vegetables, gradually. Over time, Khulan began to embrace a wide variety of foods.
“Now, she can eat her meals by herself, without any help, and can eat all types of vegetables. Her appetite has increased,” says Arvaikheer. “She eats soup and porridge now and does not pick out vegetables.”
With continuous occupational and speech therapy, Khulan also began to interact more with her teachers, show her emotions, and even follow dance moves. The dietary diversity has greatly improved her health and her growth, and she is thriving! Her cognition and developmental skills are greatly advancing now that she is no longer malnourished and is receiving the support she needs.
Holt’s Child Nutrition Program in Mongolia
Holt first expanded our Child Nutrition Program to Mongolia in 2016. In the years since, Holt’s nutrition and health services director says the program has seen “explosive growth” as our in-country Mongolia team travels across the country — bringing it to more and more sites caring for orphaned and vulnerable children.
“One of the biggest areas of growth is for children with disabilities,” Emily says.
Since 2017, Holt’s CNP has been implemented at 45 sites in Mongolia, including orphanages, schools for older children, daycares and kindergartens for younger children like Khulan and Nomin, and a number of remote health centers.
“For some of these really rural locations, our program is the only access to health services that families can access,” Emily explains. “And so, by working with these health centers, we’re able to reach more families and children who are at risk for malnutrition or may have a disability and need additional support.”
Funded by Holt sponsors and donors — especially donors to our new monthly giving program, Food Every Day — Holt’s CNP team is now working to reach every child at risk of hunger or malnutrition in Mongolia.
“Our goal is to reach all of the daycares and facilities for children with disabilities,” Emily says. “And we are going province by province until we’ve reached them all.”
You Can Help a Hungry Child
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