Good housing is essential in Mongolia, due to the particularly harsh climate. -30°C is a normal temperature in winter and even -40°C and lower is not exceptional, coupled with winds straight from the Arctic. In such intense cold, the poor people struggle to survive in make shift wooden huts without sufficient insulation from the temperatures outside, and those with absolutely nowhere to go seek protection down manholes and live in the service tunnels of the cities’ central heating system. Every winter quite a number of homeless children and adults suffer serious burns and even die underground in the manholes, the police and the city government started sealing the entrances to manholes, thus limiting the number of places for them to hide from the bitter cold and reducing their risk of frostbite.
Gers are the traditional round nomadic tents used in Mongolia for over a thousand years. They are robust and are usually well insulated in the cold winters by a double layer of thick felt, while remaining cool in the summer. The "Give a Ger" is an emergency fund which was established by Christina in 2001 to provide a home for families in danger of becoming homeless and those families struggling to survive the cold winter and poverty at the same time.
For US$1,500 you can secure a Mongolian ger for a needy family, which consists of the following: the structural wooden frame of 5 section walls, floor panels (standard size for a Mongolian family), double felt covers for the roof, a waterproof lining, a stove and chimney, and furniture such as two beds, a wardrobe, cupboard, a small table and four stools.
The gift of a ger does far more than simply removing children from squalid and unhealthy living conditions. The most important factor is that it offers security and stability to families under pressure and the chance of a new start. Donors to the "Give a Ger Fund" receive a full report with photographs of the family in their previous living situation, and photos of the ger being erected and handed over on the big day. The "Give a Ger Fund" is now implemented as a part of the Sponsorship project. In the most difficult cases the families are given a ger, and one of their children can be registered on Sponsorship programme that we run.
In 2001, the first year of the fund, we provided 8 gers and by the end of 2009, a total of 643 gers had been donated to needy families since the commencement of the project. In 2010 we continue to help the neediest children and their families by donating them a ger, and whenever it’s required, we will register a child on the sponsorship programme.
