Films from North Korea

As many as 400,000 children in North Korea are severely malnourished and in desperate need of help. So far, Mission East has distributed food aid to around 27,000 children, but the needs are enormous. Managing Director Kim Hartzner has recorded these video clips in the North Korean provinces of North Pyongang and Kangwon.

Mission East is the only Danish relief organization that has been given access to distribute food aid in North Korea. We have been invited to do so by the North Korean government, in co-operation with a Finnish partner organization.

Mission East is responsible for the monitoring of the distribution of the aid, in order to ensure that it reaches the children that are in most need.

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Among other things, the children in the orphanage in Wanson City in Kangwon Province of North Korea eat cakes of maize from Mission East as well as TopNutri, a powder that is added to the rice, and which contains a full daily ration of all necessary vitamins, proteins and minerals. From February to June 2011 the children’s daily rations where cut to a sixth of their normal rations. This has affected many of the children who are now malnourished.

Two-year old Koh is seen in the middle of this video clip. He is suffering from both chronic and acute malnourishment. He was brought to the orphanage when he was a year and a half old, following the death of his mother. Koh is one of 403 children living in the orphanage, which is meant for children under the age of five.

In one of the other video clip you can see Koh undergoing a medical examination – in that clip he is dressed in blue.

orphanage North Korea maize Mission East rice malnourished children