2026 January
About people
For about 10 years, Batbayr worked for Anna Home as a security guard and handyman. He kept the fire burning in the old house and therefore was always busy with coal in winter. He passed away in 2025.
Boldsaikhan received a prestigious award from the Mongolian president, the Polar Star, for his long-term work for children. Baigalmaa, our leader from the very beginning, accompanied him at the award ceremony. He received the prize on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Mongolian children’s organization.
Ganchiges was selected as the best athlete of his age by the Mongolian Taekwondo Association. In 2025 he won, among other things, three gold medals at an international youth championship in Manchuria, China.
About money
After a prolonged nationwide strike by teachers, their salaries have been increased by 50%. See this article. It will be interesting to see whether Mongolian society is able to pay for all of this. We already see fairly high inflation in the financial reports of our home. This will probably rise considerably further, especially now that doctors and nurses are also receiving a similar salary increase.
We do not employ teachers, but to some extent we do compete with schools and daycare centres. This means that we have to absorb part of that increase. For now, we are increasing all salaries by 20%.
About half of our budget is based on regular donors, many of you, dear readers. You are the backbone of our foundation. The other half comes from occasional donors and fundraising activities. This year we were able to bring our reserves up to a good level thanks to a few very large donations. Nevertheless, this remains a constant point of attention. Therefore, we ask you: if you are not yet a donor, please consider becoming one. We are very happy with €1 per day, an amount that the government will partially cover for some of you if you enter into an agreement with us for at least five years. And yes, of course, it may also be more than €1.
We sometimes receive donations from people we do not know and whom we therefore cannot thank. We find that very unfortunate. If you are one of those people, could you please email us?
Cameras
The government has instructed us to install cameras, one outside and two inside Anna Home. Especially the latter makes me quite nervous. They are installed in both hallways and fortunately not in the rooms.
Trip to Anna Home
In the previous newsletter I informed you that we are planning to travel to Choibalsan in the summer and that you are very welcome to join us. This will be in July or possibly August if that suits you better. If you have never been to Mongolia, this will be a fantastic adventure. This incredibly empty country is completely different from what you are used to. There is beautiful nature, there are many very kind people, and there is Anna Home! We do not want to wait much longer before making decisions, so if you want to join or are considering it, please let us know before February 1.
His Eminence
His Eminence the 7th Naro Panchen Rinpoche visited the Netherlands at the end of October. In 2014 he was recognized by the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the 6th Naropa Rinpoche. He is the founder of the Naropa Monastery and the Mind Reflection Forum and travels the world teaching leadership, spirituality, and intercultural dialogue. Three members of our board visited him in Amsterdam.