©InfoLife for Erdenjargal and her only son Gun-Erdene, 13, is dramatically different from the way it used to be, as the smiles that light up their faces tell. Gun-Erdene was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2003. Trying to pay for the expensive treatment meant that his single and disabled mother was struggling for the family’s survival.
Through the community network of Red Cross volunteers, Gun-Erdene and his mother were taken under the wing of the Mongolian Red Cross social care project. Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Red Cross, as their knowledge of the local community allows them to identify the most vulnerable.
A volunteer visits the family every month, and has helped them in many ways. Erdenjargal, like many of the migrants who descend on the capital every year, was not aware that she was eligible for government benefits. Through the Red Cross, she was able to complete the complicated process of registering herself and her son for disability and child allowances.
Vocational training course
Erdenjargal and Gun-Erdene have also taken part in a vocational training course run by the Red Cross to learn handicraft skills. They can produce beautiful beaded toys and accessories in a flash, which the volunteer helps them to sell, boosting their monthly income. Erdenjargal is now even teaching young volunteers the skills she has learnt.
The difference this has made to their lives is enormous, as Erdenjargal explains: “Our life now is so much better. With help from the Red Cross my son has been able to complete his treatment and his health is very good. He was forced to leave school for three years because of his illness, but now he is attending evening classes to catch up with the other students.”
Gun-Erdene enjoys painting, which he has taken up again since he began to recover. He paints the green Mongolian pastures and traditional ger tents. The district of Bayangol where he lives is a long way from this idyllic scene, but Gun-Erdene is still smiling, with a secure place to live and food on his plate.
More about the Red Cross in Mongolia