2026 April

So much has happened that this newsletter has become far too long. I just hope you will have the patience to read it all the way through, because there are many nice things in it.

New children

Purevsaihan (2016) and Batmunkh (2017) are brothers. Their father has died. Their mother did not take good care of them; she constantly left them behind in different places. Their lives were so difficult that the judge removed the mother from parental authority. At Anna Home they can now begin to live a normal life. After many setbacks in their still very young lives, they can now move forward! In their new uniforms, they immediately went to school.

Travel report – Han Koebrugge

At the beginning of March, Han traveled to Mongolia for the first time in his life together with our board member Aart Sliedrecht. Here are a few excerpts from the report he wrote:

“On Sunday, March 1, we arrive in Choibalsan and go straight on to Anna Home. We received a warm welcome from all the children; everyone enjoyed the gifts we had brought along. The 23 children treat each other exceptionally kindly, help one another, and are pleasantly calm. Many children stay at Anna Home from the age of six up to and including their eighteenth year—a long and very meaningful period in their lives. The care and education are well and lovingly organized by very dedicated people.

After several days of traveling and seeing beautiful sights, we are now at our destination and get to work energetically and enthusiastically. Now that prices are rising worldwide, including in Choibalsan, it is important to keep the financial contribution from the local authorities at an adequate level by paying visits to, among others, the mayor and the director of the Children Centre. This proves not to be easy; people listen attentively, but few concrete commitments are made.

At Anna Home we also carried out a detailed inventory of necessary maintenance in the short and long term, and of the purchase of loose furniture and electrical equipment. This is indeed quite a challenge with well-meaning people who do not speak English. The current house has now been in place for about six years and is used intensively. In addition to extreme weather conditions, the construction quality and the structural major and minor maintenance leave something to be desired. This presents a challenge for the coming years.

To possibly organize some English lessons, we made contact with the local Flower School. Ganzorig Darisuren is an English teacher and a tour guide in the summer. He appears to be very willing to get to work with the children. We very much hope that, through consultation with Boldsaikhan, a structural cooperation will arise.”

Various messages from Boldsaikhan

The permit to provide childcare and care services is issued once every two years. This year we received our accreditation certificate. In the Dornod province, only two organizations have received this accreditation. The government therefore sees that we are doing well!

The Mongolian branch of World Vision, a Christian organization that supports vulnerable children all over the world, visits from time to time. Every year they organize child protection training in the region, in which our teachers participate and through which they gain new knowledge and skills.

In cooperation with the Children Centre, the children practiced how to act in emergency situations, and we also spoke with them about bullying, children’s rights, and similar topics. A local clinic carried out medical assessments for all the children.

In the field of taekwondo, successes are piling up. Ganchingis and Chinguun took part in a tournament in China and each won a gold, a silver, and a bronze medal. Boldsaikhan is their trainer.

At the end of 2025, Ganzorig, who studies in Ulaanbaatar, met the requirements for the title of Sports Master of Mongolia. He received his sports master distinction, certificate, and black belt. He continues to improve his performance and develop further in martial arts.

Every year we celebrate New Year; the children then sing songs, dance, and show our staff what they have learned. This tradition has for many years been brightened by chocolate letters from the Netherlands, each child receiving their own letter. Every year there is also an amaryllis bulb, which we bring into beautiful bloom and which we also make bloom again in the years that follow.

We are renovating the house

The second Anna Home was built in 2019, after the first house burned down. For more than six years many children have been living in it, and that has left its marks. A renovation is very necessary and is also possible thanks to a large donation.

The walls have been painted in cheerful colours, we have bought new mattresses, a local carpenter has made cupboards for each bedroom, and a large new refrigerator has been installed in the kitchen. In addition, the computers were by now badly in need of replacement, so we purchased six new ones.

Much more still needs to be done, and we are now making a plan for that. A major issue in this is the renovation of the exterior walls, which look poor. The harsh climate of the country makes it difficult for paint to stay on, but the quality of the paint applied in 2019 was apparently not optimal either.

Odsaikhan Battsaikhan

Boldsaikhan wrote a short piece about one of the children:

Odsaikhan came to Anna Home when he was only two years old and grew up together with his older brother Batbayar. Sadly, his brother drowned two years ago, which was a very difficult event for Odsaikhan.

After this incident, he entered a heavy emotional period. He stayed with his sisters for a while, but misunderstandings led to tensions. One night he even left the house and ran away alone in the middle of the night, saying: “I am going to Anna Home.” This shows how much grief and inner pain he was going through.

At present, Odsaikhan is in the fourth grade and is in the same class as Suvdansondor, a child from our home. His emotional condition has now stabilized, and he has become calmer and more self-confident.

In his free time, he practices taekwondo, through which he develops discipline and perseverance. He trains with his coach and also with his friend Davaajargal. Previously, there were few boys of his age, so he mainly played with girls. Now he has more boys around him, plays together with them, and grows up in a healthy way with friends.

Odsaikhan is a child who has overcome difficulties and is moving forward step by step with confidence in life. He is open, always friendly and smiling, and gets along well with other children.