Deseret International Charities Update

The effects of the Dzud continue. Many herders have lost all of their herds. It is expected that thousands of herder families will be forced to move to the city to survive and will come looking for work, but because most of them have no other skills and because there are not many jobs, it will bring some terrible challenges to Ulaanbaatar and the other cities. In Mongolia, about 37 percent of the population is below the poverty level. Some companies are starting to do a lot of mining here for coal, copper, silver, gold, etc., which over the long run, will bring a lot of money into the Mongolian economy and create a lot of jobs, but that will all take time.

Deseret International Charities requested and received another $150,000 in emergency relief aid from the Church/Emergency Relief Fund to help support the herder families. DIC signed agreements with the governors of seven provinces (like our states) and transferred the money to them to purchase and distribute basic food supplies, medicines, fuel, sanitation items and fodder for their animals. Many of the herders are destitute and near starvation because of the loss of their animals and thus their livelihood. Also, late winter-spring is the season for the young animals to be born, but their mothers aren't able to produce milk so part of the funds will be to provide a milk substitute for the mother's milk. This brings the total emergency relief donation to $200,000, which is a lot of money here in Mongolia.

DIC is just completing 4 water wells in Zuun Kharaa, a town about 3 hours north of Ulaanbaatar where the local governor held sanitation training last Saturday. We will be holding a ceremony there in a couple of weeks to donate the wells to the people of Zuun Kharaa.

We are also working to have DIC build 5 dump stations here in Ulaanbaatar. Dump stations are located in neighborhoods which do not have water. They are like a well house, but instead of a well they have a big storage tank. The water department is responsible to haul water from wells to these dump stations. The water trucks fill the tank every week or more often as needed. People then bring their own containers to be filled at the dump stations and carry the water to their homes. Many of the children are assigned this task and it is really a difficult chore. Currently, some of the people have to walk as far as 1.5 kilometers to get water. We hope this project will work so the distance they have to go for water will be much shorter. We took this photo last week of some children hauling water up a steep hill in the area we are looking to put a dump station in. The second photo shows part of the area that would be serviced.


We also implemented a garden project for all 22 units of the Church here (wards and branches) under the direction of the priesthood. DIC provided seeds, tools, some fabric for small back-yard greenhouses and a nice gardening book in Mongolian which teaches how to plan a garden, prepare the ground, plant the seeds, and store the produce. The members are really excited about this. The Church humanitarian program has recently adopted food production as their 5th major initiative, along with: clean water, wheelchairs, neonatal resuscitation training and equipment, and vision care.

DIC has major projects going on in all five of these areas, plus some smaller area initiative projects.

Neonatal Resuscitation Training in Mongolia sponsored by Deseret International Charities

Throughout the world over 1,000,000 babies die at birth from asphyxia and another 4,000,000 are born with brain damage because of breathing difficulties experienced at birth. One of Deseret International Charities' major initiatives is to provide neonatal resuscitation training in developing countries to help birth attendants learn how to save the lives of these infants and help them overcome their breathing difficulties. DIC also donates equipment for doctors and midwives to use in this process.

April 24 to April 30, 2010, Deseret International Charities (DIC) implemented a Neonatal Resuscitation Training project in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. DIC partnered with Dr. Soyolgerel of the Ministry of Health and Dr. Bayasaa from the MCHRC Hospital. DIC donated 40 training kits, 600 manuals, 500 infant resuscitators, and 1000 bulb syringes. DIC also coordinated arrangements for Dr. Michael Preece and Dr. Devn Cornish from America to travel to Ulaanbaatar to provide neonatal resuscitation training. During Dr. Preece's development visit, the DIC team devised a plan to gather all of the neonatologists from Mongolia together and train them to return to their provinces and hospitals to train other doctors in neonatal resuscitation techniques. Part of this DIC project was to donate the equipment needed to accomplish the training and in order to provide neonatal resuscitation when needed.

DIC ordered and shipped the equipment to be donated, coordinated arrival of the team of doctors from the USA, made plans to host the training at the Bayanzurkh building, transported the equipment, ordered lunches and refreshments, and made other hosting arrangements for the training. Dr. Soyolgerel and Dr. Bayasaa confirmed attendance by all of the neonatologists from all twenty-one of the provinces in Mongolia. They also arranged for ten English speaking neonatologists to attend the special pre-training the Saturday before, who were trained to assist Dr. Preece and Dr. Cornish in the actual training. Dr. Soyolgerel prepared the final perpetuation training and reporting plan and prepared a Ministerial Order for distribution of the that were donated by Deseret International Charities to the people of Mongolia. She is also prepared a draft for certificates to be given to participants who completed the course. DIC's office finished the layout, put the names on, ran them off, and had them laminated. The certificates were then signed and stamped by the Minister of Health and DIC Country Director.


Friday afternoon Dr. Cornish arrived at the airport and Dr. Preece and his wife arrived at 11:35 that evening. They were supposed to arrive with Dr. Cornish, but the first leg of their flight from SLC to LA was canceled so they missed their connection and had to start over with a whole new itinerary. It cost a lot more, but since it was necessary for them to be here. The total cost for the NRT project was well over $50,000.

The training of the ten trainer neonatologists on Saturday went very well. Only one doctor was unable to attend the pre-training meeting because of a scheduling conflict, but she came during the actual training. Dr. Preece and Dr. Cornish are master teachers! It was an intimate setting for the training and there was a warm spirit there. The doctors were grateful for the training and excited to be part of the team of instructors. To further build the team DIC took group pictures, presented each a backpack (made by Sukhbaatar) as a token of appreciation for their help, and took them to lunch at the Ukrainian Restaurant. Dr. and Sister Eliason, Battsetseg and Assaya attended as well. It helped everyone to feel part of the team.

The actual Neonatal Resuscitation Training training went very well. Every neonatologist in the Mongolia attended the training, plus a few teachers from medical colleges, several quality managers, and a couple of doctors from a private hospital. This is something that is not possible in most countries. Seventy six attended and received certificates and credit from the Ministry of Health. They were very pleased with the training. Even though they are neonatologists, many of them had not received this type of hand-on training and were very grateful for this experience.
The neonatologists thoroughly enjoyed the additional lectures given by Dr. Cornish on "What's New in Neonatology." Dr. Enkhtuur the head of Pediatrics at the MCHRC said, "I promise I will implement these procedures in my hospital. I promise."


Many who attended said this training was the best training they had ever received and that it felt to them they were being trained abroad. The training room on the third floor couldn’t have been better. It was just the right size, well equipped, flexible, and close to nice restrooms. DIC reimbursed those who traveled in from the countryside for their travel and hotel costs, plus provided lunches, drinks, and snacks for all training sessions.



Doctors were able to leave training kits and a supply of respirators, bulb syringes, and training manuals so they could train the delivery room doctors and midwives in their home hospitals and provinces. The participants brainstormed plans to perpetuate training by teaching in their home provinces during the next six months. They were also asked to report back to DIC and the MoH about what training they were able to accomplish.

Dr. Preece and Dr. Cornish commented that this was the most remarkable training they had been involved in—-a “landmark” training, because with Mongolia’s small population they were able to train all the neonatologists, and with perpetuation training, it is conceivable to actually attain the goal of having a trained birth attendant with the proper equipment at the birth of every baby in Mongolia. Mongolia is also unique because 98 percent of the births take place in a hospital where trained birth attendants would be able to take advantage of the training and equipment. In the countryside, most expectant mothers come to a hospital one or two weeks prior to their delivery to assure they will be there when the baby is born--that is at least when there is not a dzud disaster going on like this past winter.


During the next six months DIC and the Ministry of Health will monitor the NRT perpetuation training and then assess with Dr. Preece and the Ministry of Health what additional training and/or equipment donation may be needed for Deseret International Charities to donate in following years in order to reach the goal. Now that all of the neonatologists in all 21 aimags are trained, Dr. Preece and Dr. Cornish would like to find someone to do a study on the change in infant mortality rate in Mongolia to measure the effectiveness of neonatal resuscitation training. This isn’t possible in most countries because of their vast populations and the small percentage of birth attendants they are able to train, but here it is a different story.

Over all, this NRT training was very successful. It is a tribute to the LDS Humanitarian Fund which DIC administers.

Dzud Emergency Relief

Thousands of herder families are still experiencing the slow-moving disaster of the Dzud disaster in Mongolia.  Many are weak, exhaussted and faced with insufficient food and fuel supplies.  They are rapidly losing their livelihood because of mounting losses of their livestock and newborn animals.  Reports indicate the worst is yet to come as millions of animals will die, mostly in the spring, because the livestock are already weak and there is no fodder left.  And because it will still be many weeks before temperatures will warm the ground enough for grass to grow for their livestock.

A report by the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization states that now the only means of generating cash for most herder families is to bring the dead carcasses into their homes, warm them up, remove the skin and sell the skin for approximately 50 US cents each.  Many are moving their few remaining livestock into their gers with their families to keep them warm.

Deseret International Charities donated about $50,000 for food, medicine, matches, clothing, candles, fuel, and sanitary items to three of aimags (provinces) and to the Ministry Education to help fix heating systems of school/dormatories for the herders' children.  DIC has received back some detailed reports on how the assistance was administered, who received the assistance, and photographs showing the aid being delivered.  The following are photos of assistance are from reports sent in by Uuvs and Khovd  aimags (provinces).  DIC also received letters of gratitude from each province and a request for more assistance to help the herder families and their animals through the rest of the winter.  

Much of the world is already experiencing wonderful spring time, but spring and growing grass will not come to the people of Mongolia for at least another month or two.  Also there are some areas where there is no snow, but the people there are experiencing a "black dzud." There nothing is growing because of cold temperatures and the drought.  

The Mongolian government continues to appeal for donations for:  food, fuel, medicine, clothing, fodder for the animals, and other basic needs.  Deseret International Charities (sponsored by donations from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints world wide) has received additional requests for assistance from seven aimags  (provinces) and has just requested another relief package to help the herders who are still in dire need.  Our office in Ulaanbaatar just sent this request off to the Asian Area Office, so we don't know yet how much will be approved, but if it is approved, it will be a sizable donation.

Update:
The effects of the Dzud continue. Many herders have lost all of their herds. It is expected that thousands of herder families will be forced to move to the city to survive and will come looking for work, but because most of them have no other skills and because there are not many jobs, it will bring some terrible challenges to Ulaanbaatar and the other cities. In Mongolia, about 37 percent of the population is below the poverty level. Some companies are starting to do a lot of mining here for coal, copper, silver, gold, etc., which over the long run, will bring a lot of money into the Mongolian economy and create a lot of jobs, but that will all take time.

Deseret International Charities requested and received another $150,000 in emergency relief aid from the Church/Emergency Relief Fund to help support the herder families. DIC signed agreements with the governors of seven provinces (like our states) and transferred the money to them to purchase and distribute basic food supplies, medicines, fuel, sanitation items and fodder for their animals. Many of the herders are destitute and near starvation because of the loss of their animals and thus their livelihood. Also, late winter-spring is the season for the young animals to be born, but their mothers aren't able to produce milk so part of the funds will be to provide a milk substitute for the mother's milk. This brings the total emergency relief donation to $200,000, which is a lot of money here in Mongolia.

Utah missionary: Mongolians hit hard by harsh winter

Story on KSL.com
By Jennifer Stagg

SALT LAKE CITY -- Like many parts of the world, people in Mongolia are experiencing a heavy winter. But in a country where much of the population lives in remote areas as livestock herders, this is more than some extra snow -- it's become life or death. Though the country is used to extreme winters, this one has been devastating.

"They say it's the worst they've had in 30 years," Richard Lasson says.

Lasson and his wife are serving a humanitarian mission with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mongolia. The country is having a weather phenomenon known by locals as a "dzud" -- a summer drought followed by a terrible winter with heavy snow.

"They went into the winter unprepared because they weren't able to have enough hay stocked up for their animals, and then the animals weren't that fat because they didn't have that much food in the summer time; and so now they've got a real severe winter; and so a lot of the country is covered with heavy snow, and they've had temperatures as low as 58 degrees below zero," Lasson says.

Nearly 40 percent of Mongolia's population is livestock herders, and close to 2.7 million livestock animals have died so far. Analysts predict another 3 million to 4 million animals could die before the end of the year. The snow has also made getting medical attention to those in need nearly impossible. "These people are losing their livelihood, and they've had several pregnant mothers pass away. They've had children, babies -- they cannot get to hospital help when they need it," Lasson says.

West Jordan resident Garrett Wilson served an LDS Mission in Mongolia, and his wife is Mongolian.
"Mongolia is just such a poor place that when they have an event like this happen, it's something that they can't really help themselves out of," Wilson says. Wilson's wife has family still living there. He says the people rely heavily on foreign aid in disasters, and the worst of this one may be yet to come.

"They have all of these dead carcasses lying around, that are frozen right now, but when the weather starts to warm up, those carcasses will start to rot; so that's going to be a big problem," Lasson says. There are still several more months of winter left in Mongolia. When it does start to get warmer, there could be outbreaks of disease from the dead animals, and also flooding.

Friday, the LDS Church released a statement to KSL News about the situation in Mongolia. It reads: "In response to severe winter weather in Mongolia the Church is partnering with Mongolian officials to distribute food, clothing, medicine, candles, fuel, and hygiene items to herder families and is providing funding to repair broken heating systems in school dormitories."

If you would like to help the people in Mongolia, Lasson suggests donating to the LDS Church's Humanitarian Fund, UNICEF or The American Red Cross and specify you want the funds to go to Mongolia.

E-mail: jstagg@ksl.com
For pictures that accompanied the article, to go:  http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=9829662

KSL TV News Story on Dzud Disaster, February 27, 2010

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

The Dzud/Zud (it rhymes with wood)

From an e-mail Richard sent to his brothers and sisters, "A severe drought last summer followed by a severe winter has left over 2.2 million livestock dead here in Mongolia with a projection of many more dying before warm weather and summer grasses come in May.

Through Deseret International Charities (DIC), we requested and received disaster relief funds from the Humanitarian Fund and have distributed those funds to help repair broken heating systems in 10 kindergarten-school/dormitory complexes in four aimags (Mongolian states) which house the children of herder families who stay in these school so they can get an education while their families are out on the plains with their herds. DIC is also supplying funds to three other aimags to buy food, fuel, medicines, and sanitary items for the herder families who are suffering from hunger and malnutrition.

Here in Ulaanbaatar, things are not that bad and you would never know there was a disaster. We have been attending meetings with government agencies,  and other international non-governmental organizations like DIC, so we can coordinate DIC's disaster response.

We are doing well ourselves and hope all is well with your families." 

The Dzud has turned into a disaster in many of the Aimags in Mongolia.  It's really heart-wrenching to see news reports of Mongolian herders surrounded by carcasses of their dead animals and to know that many of the herders are suffering, too.  As they lose their animals, they also lose their livelihood and for many of them their traditional way of life.

An NGO acquaintance sent us the following link on YouTube to a recent Sky  video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04e_QAztUKU
He also sent us the following updated Zud reference in Wikpedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zud

Another Wheelchair Day

January 7, 2010

Today was another amazing wheelchair day.  We delivered five DIC wheelchairs to a small Khoroo clinic in Khan-Uul District's 7th Khoroo.  Several people were waiting for us.  One was a 59-year-old man who had experienced a stroke.  He only had partial use of his body.  As his son and some of the hospital workers helped him into his new wheelchair, he just cried and cried.  It was a really touching thing to see him so grateful for his new wheelchair.

Later, we held a wheelchair ceremony at Bayanzurkh building where we gave away 23 DIC wheelchairs to needy individuals and 9 more to a Khoroo who will deliver the chairs to people in the countryside. 

One woman was picking up a wheelchair for her sister.  When we presented her the wheelchair, she sobbed and sobbed.  It really stuck me because I could just imagine how grateful I would be if it were my sister in need of a wheelchair. 

One man took the microphone and shouted praises to us for his new wheelchair. 

And one man offered to have us smell his snuff bottle.  Which I think is an honor.  I just pretended (just in case). One wheelchair recipient is a young man who is a member of the Church and who is also going to school on a PEF loan.  He was thrilled with his new wheelchair.

I wish all of the members of the Church who donate to the LDS Humanitarian fund could experience just one of these moments.  They would want to give to it for the rest of their lives.  I know we do.