Lena Khazidolda is the director of the foundation. She was born and raised in Ulaankhus, in the heart of our project area, and now lives with her husband and 3 sons in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. She studied English and is the only one on the board we can communicate with without an interpreter. Lena came to the Netherlands for the first time in April 2018 and we visited several of our partners with her.
Mrs. Marzya, also Maka, was born in Sogoog in 1974 and graduated as a doctor from Gobi-Altai Medical college. She is married and lives with her husband in Sogoog. They have 4 children, all boys. She has worked as a school doctor for more than 22 years and is the Sogoog part time mobile doctor. At times, she volunteers in the community when the other mobile doctors are busy, out of village or on the ambulance. Maka is a very experienced and a well known and respected doctor in Sogoog village and the dormitory; she takes care of the children in the dormitory as their own mommy and she is very much liked by the community. She was selected as a board member in 2024 and coordinates the health projects.
Meirjan, or Mejik, was born in Sogoog in 1997. He graduated as a primary school teacher and lives and works in Sogog. He wanted to be with his father, older sister, younger brother, and older grandmother to help after the loss of his mother in 2012. Meirjan speaks Mongolian well, is handy with computers and has worked as a volunteer in the projects of Source of Steppe Nomads since his student days. He joined the board in 2024 as coordinator of the education and vegetable projects.
Omirgul is principal of the primary and secondary school in Sogog. She is driven to provide the two schools with good education. Omirgul is married and has 2 children.
Aigul is the former director of the kindergarten in Ulaankhus. Under her leadership, the school has grown into a beautiful kindergarten with well-maintained vegetable greenhouses. Aigul lives with her husband and children in Ulaankhus and currently works as a teacher in one of the kindergarten classes.
Sailaufrom Dayan is responsible for the health projects. He is the eldest grandfather in Dayan and steppe nomad in the vast area of Dayan. In the photo he is sitting right next to Koshkenbai.
Koshkenbai is responsible for the grass seed in Dayan. His wife passed away a long time ago and he has 8 married children. He is the second eldest grandfather in Dayan and lives with his eldest son, his daughter-in-law and 8 grandchildren in Dayan. They are shepherds.
Aman is responsible for the animal shelters in Dayan. He is the third eldest grandfather and has 8 children. His wife died a long time ago and he remarried. He had 3 children with his second wife. Except for one son who lives in Ulaanbaatar, everyone lives in Dayan.