Don Bosco Caring Center

Established in 2003, the Don Bosco Caring Center (DBCC) was created to provide vulnerable children with a loving and safe environment where they can access education and ongoing support. Most children come to the DBCC from challenging situations including divorce, being orphaned or abandoned, and family violence. The Center seeks to provide a safe and loving environment for the children to access education and discover themselves as they grow up.

About the project

The DBCC operates primarily through donations. Understandably, due to ongoing financial challenges around the world, these donations have been decreasing rapidly. However, staff salaries and the cost of daily basic needs of children cannot be reduced any further or put on hold.

This project will support the DBCC in covering daily running costs including staff salaries, meals for the children, electricity, heating, and council services. Currently, there are 24 children staying at DBCC ranging from the ages of 5 to 19 years old. There are eight staff members employed at DBCC and one volunteer - a manager, a psychologist, a social worker, four teachers, a cleaner, and a cook.

Children staying at DBCC need educational support as some cannot attend school due to a variety of barriers. Staff run development lessons to support all the children in ways that allow them to learn at their own pace. The various daily lessons cover a range of basic skills to support them as they navigate school, as well as sports such as basketball, volleyball, soccer. This project also supports the children in accessing school-based education, providing them with uniforms and weather-appropriate clothing and school supplies, as well as purchasing a school bus to make attendance easier, especially during the colder months. The staff ensure all children at DBCC are well fed and receiving the nutrition they need to thrive.

"Only when the child is seen as the most valuable person, [they] become a better person, opens up [their] inner worries, and becomes more relaxed.”

Namdag Ivgeelt
Social worker at DBCC

Project activities:

This project seeks to support the overall running costs of the Caring Center as it provides a safe space for vulnerable children to live. Some specific project activities include:

  • Purchasing a school bus to transport children from the Center to their respective schools, including the Vocational Training Center. The bus will also be used to take children at the Center on excursions.
  • Providing food for nutritious meals to help the children grow and develop. This includes any medicine or vitamins each child may need.
  • Purchasing uniforms, extra jumpers, and additional thermal wears to protect the children in cooler weather.
  • Supplying equipment and resources for children attending school.
  • Offering a range of activities including homework support and sport lessons.
  • Covering staff salaries.

It is important to me to give children a home (family) again. Most of them don't have a real home (family) which all children deserve to have...”

Brother Andrew Tran Le Phuong SDB
Caring Center Director

Sustainable Development Goals

The 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. Our foundational values of communication, trust, faith, context, future, and capacity inform the way we interact with project partners and develop new relationships.
Below is a breakdown of how this project is working towards these goals:

2. Zero Hunger

This project will cover the cost of providing nutritious food for children staying at the Caring Center. An estimated one in 4 Mongolians experience moderate to severe food insecurity (World Health Organisation). Adequate nutrition enables children to develop both mentally and physically, allowing them to concentrate on learning and enjoying their childhoods.

4. Quality Education

By providing adequate clothing and uniforms, as well as access to a range of developmental lessons, this project is supporting the education of all children at the Center. While the literacy rate in Mongolia is 98 percent, many children from vulnerable backgrounds struggle to access education. A study by UNICEF in 2020, showed that Early Childhood Education attendance is up to up to 26 percent lower among children aged 5.