Caring for Street Children

project partner: CHRISTINA NOBLE CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION
location:Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
funding period:Winter 2002/03

summary: The Christina Noble Children's Foundation established the Mobile Night Clinic for Street Children Project in 1999 in order to provide access to medical facilities for street children in winter at the locations in Ulaanbaatar where the children are known to live or congregate.

Trade plus Aid's $6062 donation enabled CNCF to expand the service to two nights each week from October 2002 to March 2003.

Project Update Reports

The 'transition period' from the old-style Soviet-supported command economy to a market-led democratic system has seen the collapse of Mongolia's medical and social services and thousands of children living on the streets of Ulaanbaatar.

During winter, street children are forced to take shelter from the bitter cold in the City's system of sewers and hot water pipes. This bitterly cold, inhospitable environment leaves children at risk from a range of ailments and diseases.

The clinic provides emergency medical treatment for children but this project is more than a mobile clinic. It comprises a team of staff dedicated to the well-being of the children and determined to ensure that the children know that in this time of distress they have friends who are there to support them, and upon whom they can call for help.

For initial project proposal Click here.

For more information on the Christina Noble Children's Foundation visit www.cncf.org.

This project is accredited to Rouse & Co and Willoughby & Partners without whose pro bono advice there would not have been the funds available to finance this project.

"It's not just about money but about giving the children some love. A little love and a little pride. It's the least they deserve."
-
Christina Noble


Many of the city's children live in the sewers to protect themselves from the cold winter nights, which can reach temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius.